The Argument
by RagnarDanneskjold
Summary: After barely escaping during a mission, Sabine confronts Ezra for his reckless actions and let's slip what he means to her. Sabezra/Ezrabine and slight Kanera pairings. Takes place some time after Season 03, assuming Sabine had not yet returned to Mandalore.
1. Chapter 1 - Escape

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

* * *

"Just what the hell was that Ezra Bridger?!" screamed Sabine Wren with a look equal parts fury, terror, shock, and joy on her face.

They stooped, catching their breath with the rest of the Ghost crew, minus Chopper, in the rear cargo bay as the ship left the atmosphere and escaped into the dark starry sky.

"I told you I was going back for the data chip!" Ezra shouted back, with an incredulous look on his face.

This was not the first time Sabine and he had raised their voices at each other, but it was one of very few. And this time was different. He didn't quite know how yet, but as he slowly stood up, reclipping his lightsaber to his belt, he gave her a long look, their eyes briefly locking on each other. Tears were streaming from her face and he cheeks were red. Whether from exertion, the smoke from the explosions, or from her obvious emotional state, she looked like she had been in the middle of crying. Ezra's Jedi powers had increased tremendously since he had asked Kanan what the Force was that fateful day in his old tower, his last day he could call that home. But the emotions pouring out of Sabine washed over his Force-heightened senses, causing him to shut them out for now. He was not yet his master's equal, and he could not fully control his growing abilities, even now. Too many emotions from too many places, many his own, clouded his mind and made his head spin.

"Yes, you said that" Sabine snapped back, this time her voice a sharp biting tone, diminished in volume, but no less angry. "And I told you there wasn't time!"

"Well, it worked didn't it?" Ezra defended, an air of his former braggadocio in his voice and a slight smirk on his face, two things he had mostly, but not quite entirely, grown out of over the past several years.

It had been another daring mission, and another close call escape. They had been tasked with obtaining Imperial shuttle clearance codes from a spaceport on Corellia; codes the Rebellion had said they desperately needed. Ezra and Kanan had infiltrated the command post while Hera and Chopper flew the Ghost and manned the lower turret, with Zeb and Sabine handling covering fire and demolitions, two things both knew better than any other in the small team. But the plan, as many plans go, did not survive first contact with the enemy. The garrison had been alerted to their presence, and Sabine's backup demo charges had been needed to be set off early to stop a pair of AT-ST walkers that were punishing the Ghost's shields as it hovered near their extraction point. Ezra, in a foolish but entirely characteristic move, had dashed back inside to grab the data chip containing the codes, outrunning the detonating charges and blaster fire, barely leaping to the waiting ramp as it had already begun moving away from the battle.

Hera, Kanan, and Zeb stood off to the side of the bay, watching the exchange. Kanan was not entirely pleased with his young apprentice's actions, but discipline and focus were not the only traits Ezra had picked up from his gun-slinging Master's tutelage. Ezra had become sharper, quicker, stronger, and wiser from his lessons, but his brash edge of daring (some may say recklessness) had also rubbed off on Ezra more than Kanan was comfortable with. Hera on the other hand watched with her own slight smirk hiding just under the surface. She of course was not pleased either, but Ezra's actions had reminded her of Kanan. Thinking back to the day they met on Gorse those many years ago, and a time when Kanan himself was more quick to run through fire and death to pull off the impossible. And as a General in the Rebellion she had to admit...he did get those codes.

Zeb for his part, always one to appreciate a good fight, had intended to slap Ezra on the back and tell him what a good show it was, but even he could see this was not the time for joking around. And all three of them could remember other times when both Ezra and Sabine had done things equally foolish and dangerous, but without the shouting match at the end. Something had changed.

"Yes. It worked. You got the damn codes." Sabine said slowly, glaring at Ezra across the bay. "But did it occur to you that you could have died!?" she continued, raising her voice once again at the end.  
"Did you even think about what the rest of us would do without you? Did you think about what I would do without you?" she continued, voice shaking, her own emotions getting the best of her. "Did you even stop once to think about what losing you would mean to me...?" she finished with a soft voice, her anger now burning out, leaving only her shock and fear at Ezra's near death.

"Kanan dear, let's see if these codes were worth the trouble" Hera remarked coolly, making her way towards the hatch leading to the rest of the ship. "You too Zeb". Giving the pair one last sidelong look, Hera, her Jedi lover, and their Lasat comrade slipped through the hatch and left the cargo bay, shutting the door behind them.

"So...you heard it too?" Kanan asked Hera with a look of weary concern on his face. He may have lost his ability to see, but not many things slipped by Kanan Jarrus without notice.

"Yes...she said 'me', not 'us'" Hera replied with a knowing look on her face.

"Yeah..." Kanan responded with a sigh. He knew exactly where this was going. And the three made their way to the cockpit, each thinking about what this most recent development between their two teenage teammates might mean.

* * *

A/N: This is my first fic. Ever. I haven't done creative writing of any kind in probably 15 or so years, since high school. So please forgive me if it's garbage. I'm not entirely sure about all this, but I'm really into Rebels and obviously ship Ezra and Sabine. This was just a quick idea I had to see if I even could. I've read through most of the Sabezra fics on here and and still want more, so why not make my own right? Any criticism, corrections, or comments are more than welcome. I'm also a big Star Wars fan in general but I'm not an expert with names and places and all that, so if I mess up some bit of Star Wars lore or get some name wrong, by all means point it out. I think there will be at least one more chapter, but I'm not entirely sure where I want to go with it yet.


	2. Chapter 2 - Reflections

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

* * *

Ezra's smirk had evaporated as he processed Sabine's last words. "Sabine...I..." He tried to say, not knowing exactly what he was trying to say.

Sabine looked at him, sudden embarrassment washing over her as she also processed what she had said. She really hadn't meant for this to happen. For it all to come out like this, and in front of the rest of her adopted family no less. Sabine had never been comfortable wearing her heart on her sleeve. No, she prefered her new Mandalorian vambraces over feelings any day.

If she had time to look back, she might have guessed something like this would have happened. Her and Ezra had started out as...enemies? Competitors? Fighting for the same Imperial crates on Lothal, each trying to out-steal the other. But after he had shown his long dormant selfless side during their mission to save the captive Wookies, and accepted Kanan's subsequent offer to teach him the ways of the Force, over time she had grown to accept his presence, tolerate him, then appreciate him. They had gone on many missions since, living together in their tiny capsule of breathable air in the vastness of space, both having come to think of the Ghost as their home. He had grown, in more ways than one.

She knew from day one, 'literally', that he had feelings beyond simple friendship for her. His oafish attempts at flirting from the moment she met him was evidence enough of that. But whether from time, Kanan's teachings, or the tough experience of growing up during a war, Ezra had indeed grown. Gone were his obvious attempts at flirting and bragging, except for a few moments here and there when the old Ezra showed himself. The silly, short, and obnoxious boy had been replaced with a taller, serious, and mature man.

And his selflessness had only grown as well. She thought often of the time he had sealed the door between her and the Inquisitors, leaving himself to face them alone so she would live. She thought of him staying behind at the Imperial Academy to try to save fellow cadets from a short life under the Empire's thumb. She remembered their recent trip to Concord Dawn where he had fought side by side with her against Gar Saxon, never hesitating to stand by her. And again on Krownest where he had given her his own lightsaber so she could finally defeat Saxon and his band of collaborators. Time and again Ezra had shown he was willing to do whatever it took to keep her safe. And there had been other moments they shared, moments on which their relationship had been built. Painting the stolen TIE, long chats sitting on top of the Ghost or during a long hyperspace jump in the Phantom, and while learning to wield the Darksaber with Kanan. Moments she had dwelled on more often than she would admit during her time away from her adopted family, while back with her biological family. True, she had missed them all. Kanan's wise advice, Hera's leadership, even Zeb's dependable "big brother" attitude, and even Chopper's practical jokes. But more often than not, her mind had returned to Ezra.

And she had just nearly killed him herself. Those were her explosives he had just ran through. Made by her, set by her, detonated by her. Explosives she had been certain had killed the boy, the man, she now looked at from across the bay. The man she lov... 'No, Sabine, you will not break down like that again' she admonished herself, wishing to the universe she had not removed her damn helmet before digging herself into this hole.

"Sabine?" Ezra said once more, pulling her out of her thoughts and into the moment. She noticed his smirk was gone too. Replaced with a look of worry and concern. He took a tentative step toward her, taking her silence as permission to continue.

"You're right...I didn't think of that. Any of that. I just...didn't want to fail."

He knew it sounded like an excuse. In light of what she had just said, he knew any explanation would ring hollow, and for good reason. The fact was, she was right. He hadn't thought of her, or anyone else. He was caught up in the moment, saw something needed doing, and did it. 'Live in the moment' as the Jedi teachings went. But Jedi teachings didn't have much to say about what living in the moment might do to those who cared for you. Maybe that was one of the reasons Jedi teachings also taught to avoid having those who care for you in the first place. But that was then, this is now. Those Jedi are long gone. He and Kanan were right here, right now. The last remnants of the old Order, just trying to survive another day at a time. And they did have people who cared for them. One of them was looking at him right now, pain etched on her face.

And the sight made him want to wretch. The sudden realization of what he had done came flooding into him. That face, the one he had spent many days thinking about and many more nights dreaming about. The girl, no the woman, he had grown to care for more than any person in the galaxy. The woman who had been at his side through it all. The woman who had given him the holo-disc of his family, his last connection to his lost parents, when no one else had thought to. The woman who had left her family to come back with him to Atollon, to certain death, to rescue their friends. The woman he loved more than life itself. He caused that pain. His actions made those tears. His choices has brought those words, and their implications, on himself.

He took another step, now standing only a meter away as she returned his gaze.

"Sabine...I'm sorry". He knew it wasn't really enough.

She had to do something. Put the walls back up. Say something to steer this conversation away from what she was certain was uncharted territory for them both and towards something more familiar.

"Yeah, well next time just...think Ezra. A data chip isn't worth your life, no matter how much Draven says he needs it" Sabine replied, as the mask of impassivity covered her face once more. "Besides, without you, Zeb gets the room all to himself. And that would make him too happy" she quickly followed up, using an awkward attempt at humor to erase the obvious tension that still laid between them.

"Yeah" Ezra said with a forced chuckle "Can't let him get too comfortable" He sensed there was more that she wanted to say, and knew there was much more he wanted, but he knew this wasn't the time for that conversation, so he let her bad joke pass and played along.

"Well umm anyways I should.." Ezra started to say

"Yeah I have to go fix my uh..helmet" Sabine spoke over him. "Those explosions did a number on my sensors" as she quickly put her helmet back on, unseen relief and embarrassment washing over her face from behind her trusty face-mask.

"Well, I'll uhh see you..when we uh..." Ezra trailed off, fumbling his own words and wishing he had just kept his own shut. 'smooth, real smooth' he thought with a wince.

"Yeah, I'll see you then" Sabine replied while turning to rush off to her room, leaving Ezra standing alone in the cargo bay.

* * *

Well, here's the second chapter. I guess I'm really gonna go through with this. Thanks for the kind words and Kudos to those who read the first part. I think I'm getting a little more comfortable writing and I have a better idea of the general path I want this to take. And as always, any corrections, advice, or criticism is always welcome.

And Draven is one of the Rebellion Generals that was with the Alliance during Rogue One. I don't actually know if he is part of the Rebellion at this point in time, but I decided to include him anyways.


	3. Chapter 3 - Discussion

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

* * *

"Well?" Hera asked for the third time in as many minutes.

She and Kanan sat alone in the cockpit of the Ghost, the streaks of distant stars passing beyond the windows as the ship traveled through hyperspace towards their very new home of Yavin 4. Kanan sat in the co-pilot's seat, eyes closed in concentration, his own senses tuned to the few life forms within range of his Force abilities.

"Now they're moving apart, going to their rooms I think" Kanan answered as he opened his eyes. "I didn't sense any significant change in their feelings. I think they avoided it. Again."

"Well love, you know how long it took me to warm up to your...charms" Hera said, slipping into his lap.

"I had you from day one and you know it" Kanan said with a sly grin, wrapping his arm around his Twi'lek lover's shoulders.

"Uh huh, you just keep telling yourself that Master Jedi" Hera whispered in his ear, placing a small kiss on his cheek. "But we're not really talking about us here, we're talking about Sabine and Ezra" she continued, getting the conversation back on track.

"Well we both figured it would come to this eventually. Those two have had to grow up without anyone else in their lives they could really trust for so long" said Kanan

"Speak for yourself, I've always been the trustworthy sort. Can't say the same for a certain gun-slinging ex bartender I know though..." Hera laughed.

"You know what I mean. People their own age. Sabine lost her brother, whatever passed for friends she had at the Academy, Ketsu. And Ezra...well who knows if Ezra even had friends on Lothal. He certainly didn't seem to be the center of any social circles when we found him" Kanan continued with a distant look on his face.

"It sounds like you're not so sure this is even a good idea..." Hera quasi-asked.

"Honestly...I just don't know" Kanan explained. "They're both clearly still hurting, even after all this time together. On one hand, it makes sense that a teenage guy and a teenage girl without anyone else around would end up having those sort of feelings for each other. So who knows if it's even serious or real, or if it's just because there isn't any other opportunity for them. And on the other hand, Sabine still has to go back to Mandalore. As much as we all like having her back on the ship to help, we both know that can't last. Not until the problems with her family and the Darksaber are dealt with."

"And?" Hera inquired, knowing there was still more.

"And Ezra is still growing as Jedi. I know the old ways of avoiding attachments don't really work anymore. At least they didn't for me" he answered pointedly, with Hera still sitting on his lap.

"I feel his issues with Maul and the Sith holocron are behind him, at least for the most part. But part of me thinks he might not be ready to deal with both finishing his training and helping the Rebellion and starting a serious romantic relationship all at the same time. Part of me still sees some wisdom in the old ways. Those kinds of strong emotions complicate things, especially for one so young and with so little experience. And the consequences if it doesn't work out...with his emotional state and past with the Dark Side...that could turn out badly."

"If I remember, you were younger than him when...well when you stopped being a Padawan" Hera said delicately, knowing the topic of Order 66 and the death of Depa Billaba was still a sore point with Kanan. "You managed to work out fine, and with no more training or experience than he had. And he has you guiding him now, which is something you didn't have when you were his age."

Kanan looked at her, words seeming to almost form on his lips as he made his answer, but Hera cut him off.

"And if either of us have learned anything from this war it's that you have to find happiness where you can and when you can. What was that old Jedi saying you bring up? 'The future is always in motion'? Well it's in motion for them too. As much as no one wants to admit it, we don't know if any of us are going to live another day, another week, another year, or 100 years. Who are we to tell two teenagers they shouldn't find happiness in each other if they can? They're still people, just like you and me. We're not droids. We don't just serve the Rebellion at the cost of everything else in life. You were the one to show me that dear, otherwise I'd still be keeping you at arm's length" Hera finished, knowing she'd won this argument, as she often did.

"It's 'Always in motion, the future is'" Kanan said lamely, also knowing he'd lost the argument but still wanting to get the last word in. "But yeah..you're right. Again. I've always been able to tell Ezra had deep feelings for Sabine. Hell, you don't need the Force to see that. I thought he'd grow out of it, but if anything they've only gotten stronger. He's become much better at containing them, shielding his mind from letting them get out. But when we meditate and he let's his guard down, they're still there. And they still influence his judgment and decisions, even if he doesn't realize how much. But Sabine..."

Hera remained silent, knowing he would continue in his own time. She sat in his lap contently, waiting for her lover to come to the same conclusion she already had.

"But Sabine...something happened while she was on Krownest. Or maybe because she was on Krownest, and not here with us." Kanan continued after a long moment of silence. "I never sensed much in the way of those kind of feelings from her, towards Ezra or anyone else. Even when that Antilles kid was on board, nothing. It's like that part of her was just...turned off. But when she came back with Ezra to Atollon, there they were. I think that's what made her react like that today."

"Well absence makes the heart grow fonder as the Jedi used to say" Hera said with a smile.

"I'm pretty sure that was not among Master Yoda's many sayings" Kanan responded with a chuckle.

"Makes the heart grow fonder, absence does?" Hera tried again with a laugh

"No, not that one either" Kanan replied, joining in her laugh. "But it's a good point anyways. The only question is...what do we do about it? We can't have them leave this unresolved. If she goes back to her family and he stays here without dealing with it, it's just going to make them both miserable. And neither of them need that, Ezra especially. He's been good so far dealing with it, but I don't want to see what will happen if they lose each other again without at least having the opportunity to set things right"

"We can't make them get together, even if they would probably thank us in the end. All we can do is what we've always done. Be there for them. Talk to them. Help them through it like the parents we both should have had at their age"

"Right again love" Kanan said, making a move to stand up "Now I'm gonna go get a caf, want any?"

"You just had to ruin our moment did you?" Hera replied with a grin "But, yes I could use one, that last fight took a lot out of me" she continued, getting off his lap and sliding back into the pilot's chair as Kanan made his way toward the rear hatch.

"Oh and dear?" Hera said over her shoulder right before he left "If it makes you feel any better, on my ship I'm always right" she said with a wink.


	4. Chapter 4 - Apologies

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

* * *

Sabine was shaken from her thoughts by the chime of her door. She had been attempting to do the one thing that had always helped her sort out her thoughts and feelings in the past; painting. But this time it wasn't working. She had stared for hours at the blank section of wall, nearly the entire trip back to Yavin 4 from their last mission, but no inspiration had come. Instead she had sat on the floor, her mind racing through thoughts both new and old, trying to piece together what she had done, almost done, and would do next.

"Sabine?"

It was Ezra. He was standing just outside her door and she could hear his voice beckoning through the speaker. Slowly she got off the ground and walked to the door, hitting the button to open it, bracing herself for what might come next.

"Oh..hey..I just wanted to say we're touching down on Yavin" Ezra said with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, touching the back of his head with his hand, a gesture he had undoubtedly picked up from Zeb.

"Have you thought about..well…if you want to get a room?" He continued.

"A room?" Sabine replied, crossing her arms and giving him a level look.

"I mean quarters at the new base!" he quickly corrected, "I didn't mean like a room room, like us getting a room ha ha…" trailing off, his embarrassment deepening as his cheeks flushed.

"I just mean that you're been back, well I think you're back, are you back? I mean that I just wanted to ask if you needed help moving…not that you need help! Obviously you don't need help moving stuff, I'm just offering to help..if you need it. I mean want it" He blurted in one long incoherent sentence.

An awkward pause. The arm moving back up to his head and Ezra shifting on his feet, then finally a sly grin as he tried to recover any sense of pride he might have left.

"No Ezra" Sabine replied, looking down and away with a forlorn look. "I haven't decided yet. I'm still not sure if I'm back to answer your question, and it wouldn't make sense to move any of my things onto the base just to leave again"

"Oh" Ezra looked dejected, and even without amazing Force powers, she could tell he was disappointed. But as much as it pained her to see him like this, especially after their argument in the cargo bay, she had to put a stop to this before it got any more awkward. Or truthful. Not until she had made her decision, and not just about getting a room.

Sabine started to move away from the door, hoping he would take the hint.

He did.

"Well…I guess if you change your mind, or maybe want to get dinner or do some light saber practice, you know where to find me" Ezra finished, sensing her desire to be alone, and making his own way away from the door.

"I'll let you know" Sabine said, almost leaving it there. "And if I __want__ help moving my stuff, you'll be the first to know Ezra" she tacked on, almost regretting it, but not quite.

The two exchanged a brief but genuine smile, each thinking and hoping it was a sign their relationship was back on track, and wondering if the other felt the same.

"Well how'd it go kid?" Garazeb Orrelios asked Ezra as they made their way down the ramp of the Ghost towards the massive entrance to the base hidden in the thick canopy jungle of Yavin 4.

"You don't see her with me do you?" Ezra bit back, immediately regretting his tone.

Zeb wasn't offended. He knew all too well what it was like to be young and in love. And to have that love seemingly unreturned.

"Give it time kid, she's got a lot on her mind. A lot of decisions to make. She hasn't gone back to her family yet, so that's a good sign" Zeb tried to say with a tone of wisdom.

"I thought we were her family" Ezra replied bitterly, shoulders slumped, head down.

"We are, but so are they. She's got two families. And right now she's here with us. So cheer up or I'll have Chopper cheer you up for you" he jokingly threatened, trying to lighten the mood. "And with the way you smell, I don't blame her for not coming with you" he said, giving Ezra a friendly shove.

"Hey! She likes the way I smell!" Ezra laughed, and the two made their way towards the housing units, not seeing the lithe Mandalorian figure standing on the ramp of the Ghost behind them, gazing at the two forms disappearing under the low awning of the base proper.

* * *

Sabine angrily smacked the button to her room door, causing it to slide closed behind her as she threw her helmet onto her bed. The rage vanished as quickly as it had come, being replaced by the sadness it had itself supplanted.

'Get a hold of yourself!' she thought as she once again slumped onto the floor. She was acting like a petulant teenager and she knew it. The fact she __was__ a teenager just made it that much more shameful to her. She had always been stronger than most. She had to be. Growing up for her had been endless days of training, sparring, learning, fighting, and training some more. As a Mandalorian she knew she was never going to have the youth those girls on worlds like Coruscant had, spending their nights dancing and flirting, partying and shopping. Even if there were no war, no Empire, that was never in the cards for a girl like her. Mandalorians learn to fight as they learn to walk, the girls and the boys. And with the war, and the Empire, her life had been even harder. Her family and their past, the Academy, her escape, Ketsu…There had been a few nights like those girls on Coruscant had, or as close as she guessed one could have in dirty cantinas on Outer Rim worlds, while bounty hunting with Ketsu. After finishing a long job, the two sometimes dropped a few credits on drinks and tried their best to forget their troubles for a night. But those nights had been few and far between, and long behind her.

But she was still a teenager, and a girl, she had to admit to herself. Part of her was still drawn to things like romance, as much as she tried to bottle it up behind a facade of cool professionalism or Mandalorian swagger. And that is what her decision hinged on. Not her decision to stay, that one was made. She wasn't going to, she couldn't. She had left her family in the middle of a civil war to come back with Ezra to help with the evacuation of Atollon, and she owed it to her family and herself to go back and see it through. But her brother and the few warriors who had come with her had already found transport and departed, leaving her unwilling to go with them just yet. So she stayed. She moved back into her room on the Ghost. Before long she was going on missions with them, just like it had been before. It was so easy to fall back into the familiar swing of things, fighting alongside Zeb, talking with Hera, making fun of Ezra every chance she got.

Ezra. She had finally admitted to herself he's why she hadn't left yet, a few days before. She had almost left then, her bag packed, looking back into her room and her paintings for the last time. And that's when the loneliness hit her. The same loneliness she felt on Krownest when she was with her family. She told herself then that she missed everyone, and she had. But she missed Ezra the most, thought of him the most, wished to see his goofy grin, smell his delicious Lothalian scent…

'I said get a hold of yourself!' she admonished internally, throwing an empty spray can across the room. 'You're tougher than this. You're better than this. Just decide.'

'Do I tell him, or do I just go?' And as she considered just leaving again, she reached her decision in an instant of clarity. The loneliness swept over her again, just as it had a few days ago. And just as it had made her turn right back around and unpack her bag, this time it helped her realize what she needed to do. She had to tell him. Or at least try to. She had to do something to get these feelings out in the open, before she never had another chance. She was fighting two wars after all, one against the Empire and another against other clans. Her chances of never being able to tell him or see where it might go were much higher than she liked.

But how to do it. Another decision. 'Ezra I love you'. She could just march right up to his door and say the words. But she knew she wasn't going to do __that__. She had to test the waters, see if he even still felt the same way for one. It had been a long time since he had really flirted with her like he had at first. She kicked herself for so casually brushing him off for so long. She hadn't even given him a hug when they left her on Krownest. That mistake still stung her. All this time she had been pushing him away only to realize now it was the opposite of what she wanted. So now she needed a plan. She needed help. How to be romantic with a Jedi…she needed Hera.

* * *

Ezra tossed his own bag onto the ground of his messy quarters before making his way to the refresher. One of the great things about Yavin was he finally had his own room. Clothes lay on the floor, empty caf cups on the table, a few posters on the wall, all still exactly as he had left them, with no one telling him to clean it up. He knew that might not last long as the Rebellion grew and more cells made their way to the base, swelling their numbers past how many housing units they currently had. But for the time being, he was relishing the space and the privacy. After years of bunking with Zeb, his small room seemed like a mansion to him.

It had been a few weeks since they made their daring escape from Atollon, and he had slowly begun moving things from his bunk on the Ghost to his room, each time making sure Sabine was around when he carried something off the Ghost, hoping she'd notice what he was doing and decide to move some of her own things to a more permanent location. But so far she hadn't. And after the conversation they'd just had, it didn't look like she would be any time soon.

But Zeb was right, she hadn't left yet either. So there was still a chance. A small one, but a chance. He had her back. The time she had been gone had been excruciating. He tried his best not to show it to the others, throwing himself into his job and his training. He was eager to volunteer to be "captured" by the Empire in order to extract Kallus. While it hadn't actually worked out, the mission had been a much needed distraction for him. He needed to pull his own weight and show Hera and the rest of the Rebels that he could be relied on. Being stripped of his command and duties after his "questionable" and selfish decisions earlier that year hit him hard, and he knew he had to try to get back in their good graces, not let them down again.

He had been terrified he had undone everything once again when he stole a fighter to go after Maul, but the crew had welcomed him back with open arms, and Hera hadn't said a word about his reckless decision. Kanan had also been silent on the issue, though he suspected that he was just relieved Maul would no longer be a problem for any of them. Ezra's escapade had at least accomplished that one thing.

No, two things. The Gauntlet. Ezra had gained a ship out of the ordeal as well. His __own ship__. The thought of it pushed all others out of his mind, even his pain regarding Sabine. He had his own ship. A swift, sleek, powerful Mandalorian fighter. A last parting "gift" from Maul, payment for all the misery he had caused. Though Maul of course hadn't actually given it to him, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi himself told him to take it and leave Tatooine, and that was good enough fro Ezra. It was as good as his now.

Ezra grabbed a small bag of personal items from the empty top bunk and rushed out of his room towards the maintenance bay. The Rebellion had been gracious enough to do some minor repairs to the ship while he had been gone with the Ghost, plus one other thing…

Ezra skidded to a halt as he entered the hanger which housed the ship. __His__ ship. There it was, as graceful and powerful as ever, its sharp lines making it look like it was in flight even as it sat there alone in the hanger. The repairs had obviously been finished, along with his one special request. Gone were the dark blacks and reds the Sith favored. The ship now sat gleaming with pure white. The maintenance crew had repainted the entire ship with a dazzling white paint that reflected the overhead lights brilliantly. He knew Sabine would have been furious he had asked anyone but her to spray even one drop of paint on anything, but he knew she would quickly forgive him this time. Because the ship wasn't just white, it was a canvas. A magnificent blank canvas fit only for the best artist he'd ever known.

Ezra slowly walked around the ship, running his hands over the new paint, admiring the craftsmanship and and detail of the design. Ezra knew next to nothing about starships, but even he could tell it was a work of art. Mandalorians never made anything halfway, and this fighter, despite its age, still showed every sign of the genius who had designed and built it.

Ezra tapped a switch on a control device attached to his belt and the ramp slowly lowered into position. He made us way up into the rear cargo bay and began walking among the few rooms. Though large, most of the ship consisted of the long wings and drive section, leaving only the cylindrical wedge in the middle as actual habitable space. But despite this, the ship had what he thought was plenty of room. The rear ramp and cargo area, an enclosed section right below with benches that could be lowered to drop troops into combat, the engineering section and a few storage lockers. He quickly checked in one of the lockers to make sure the maintenance crew had completed his other request. There on the shelves were cans of aerosol disbursed paint in several different colors. He knew an artist needed paint, and if his plan stood a chance of working, he intended her to have everything she needed.

Taking the ladder to the upper deck, he looked inside to two small rooms on either side of a narrow but efficiently designed hallway. One contained a small living quarters, which he had very briefly considered moving into instead of his room on the base, but quickly rejected that as it hadn't yet been cleaned, and who knew what sort of filth Maul had left behind. That and it just hadn't seemed right to separate himself from the rest of the crew like that. Like Sabine had. But now that it apparently had been cleaned, and with industrial enthusiasm, it was worth considering as a backup option just in case.

The other room looked to be a small multi-purpose room with a few weapons lockers, a holo-projector conference table, some computer terminals, a small refresher, and even an astromech recharging station. Last was the cockpit. Ezra set his bag down and slipped into the pilot's chair. Running his hands over the deactivated controls, he began thinking of his plan.

He had to reconnect with Sabine, somehow. His stupid and thoughtless actions and the ensuring argument earlier that day still nagged at his mind, and he had been afraid all the work he put into this surprise would be rendered pointless. But her last words about making sure to look for him gave him some comfort. He still had that chance. If there was any way he could finally open up to Sabine and get her to do the same for him, this was it. He wasn't above a little bribery, and he knew Sabine's price. A few cans of paint and something to make her mark on. The way to her heart was through her artistic expression, and the Gauntlet might be his best chance at it.

It had been years since they had painted the TIE together, but looking back that was just casual graffiti; glaring colors and radical designs, meant to put a thumb in the eye of the boring and monotone Empire with their bland ships and even blander people. This was something different. This was going to be a masterpiece. He just knew it. She would pour her heart and her soul into this and make something any of them would be proud to ride into battle for years to come.

But how could he get her to do it? "Hey Sabine, wanna come paint my ship?" Yeah that would work, but it wasn't enough. He had to make it special, make it a surprise. Something for just the two of them. And beyond that, it had to serve as a way to finally let the Loth-cat out of the bag and confront the feelings he had harbored for years. And that's where the danger laid. He didn't know anything about that sort of thing. Romance? He'd tried his hand at such things with her before, but knew his awkward attempts at flirting were laughable now that he was older and could see how young and stupid he had been. He needed help with this one. This might be his last shot to get through to her, maybe even make her stay with him. Luckily he knew one such person who had experience in this very thing. A Jedi who had won the heart of a strong and tough woman who had treated him as just a crewmate, and then a friend, but no more, for years before finally taking the next step. He needed to talk to Kanan.

* * *

A/N: A little longer chapter this time, as it's been a while since my last update. Hope you enjoy it and the direction I'm taking it. As always, please review and feel free to offer any criticism or advice. I'm still very new to any kid of creative wrting, and this is as much of a learning experience for me as it is a story on its own.

And regarding the Gauntlet; I've scoured the internet looking for any indications of what the inside of that kind of ship looks like, to no avail. It's clearly bigger than the 1 seater Mando fighters we see elsewhere in the series, and you can see the small canopy of the cockpit in images of it, so that gives some sense of size. It's about 50m long, and Maul used it for a while as his mobile base of operations, so I figure he'd have made a few modifications such as adding a small living area. It seemed at least plausible to me that it would have a few small rooms as it's as much of a troop transport as it is a fighter. So I took some creative liberties and made up an interior for it. If it's wrong, oh well.


	5. Chapter 5 - Advice

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

A/N: This chapter includes some very general spoilers for the novel __A New Dawn.__ No major details, but it will involve Hera and Kanan talking about how they met, which is of course the major plot of A New Dawn. If you're ok with that or have read it, read on. If you haven't, I don't really spoil the story itself, just give make some references to events from it and describe what the characters were like back then. I don't give away the ending or anything like that. Besides, you know how it turns out. Hera and Kanan obviously survive and end up together. But still, it's only fair I mention that I will be bringing up stuff from that novel.

* * *

Locating Hera was harder than she thought. After reaching her decision, Sabine used her communicator to ask Hera if they could meet, only to receive no response. She left the Ghost and began wandering through the base, seeing new faces everywhere she looked. The Rebellion had grown a great deal during her time away and she was still shocked at how many freedom fighters from throughout the galaxy had converged on this small moon. Her path took her to the commissary, the medical bay, the storage warehouses, the common rooms, and was she just about to head to the hanger bays when she ran into Zeb. The Lasat was walking with Chopper towards the commissary when he spotted her.

"Hey Sabine, up for some dinner? I've had about enough of this droid's company and I could really use someone with a better attitude" he growled, prompting some annoyed chirps from the astromech.

"Maybe next time Zeb, I'm actually looking for Hera and she's not answering her com. You know where she is?" Sabine asked.

"Yeah actually, she's in a meeting with the Admirals. Top secret stuff, no droids or communicators allowed" he said with a mocking voice. "Should be getting out soon, I think they're in the big meeting room"

"Thanks Zeb!" Sabine replied and began to rush off towards the meeting room.

"Anytime kid" the confused Lasat said, watching her vanish through the doorway on the far side of the hall.

"C'mon Chop, let's eat" Zeb said to his mechanical counterpart. Chopper made more beeping noises in response, but Zeb didn't understand him, and probably wouldn't have cared if he did. The warrior saw the familiar shape of no-longer-Agent Kallus also heading to the dining area, and he jogged to meet him, leaving the sputtering droid to catch up.

* * *

The Rebellion command staff was just exiting the main conference room when Sabine appeared around the corner, almost running into a group of Mon Calamari as she did. After mumbling a few rushed apologies, she spotted Hera about to turn down the opposite hall when she called out.

"Hera!" Sabine shouted, drawing some annoyed looks from the assembled higher-ups. Hera turned and saw her at the other end of the hallway, immediately looking concerned. Hera jogged over to Sabine to find out what was going on.

"Sabine, what's wrong? Is everything alright?" Hera asked, thinking that there was yet another crisis to deal with.

"Yeah! Everyone is fine, I uhh was just looking for you" Sabine said, a little flustered.

"Okay…" Hera asked, waiting for more. When Sabine didn't say anything she continued "And you were looking for me…why?"

"Oh, just wanted to hang out, you know, us girls" Sabine tried to say casually.

Hera was not falling for it. 'Us girls?' Since when did Sabine __ever__ say things like that?

"Well I was about to go replace some parts on the Ghost hyperdrive, you're more than welcome to join me" Hera offered, thinking she knew what this might be about and knowing it would require some privacy.

"Sure, I'd love to" Sabine said with a smile. Sabine truly enjoyed mechanical work, and she wanted something to distract her from the coming discussion. She joined Hera as they walked back towards the hangers, staying silent at first but unable to resist asking the obvious question.

"Soooo…what was that all about? The meeting."

"You know the answer to that Sabine. You'll find out when you find out. And I'm certainly not talking about it here in the hallway" Hera replied, eyeing the numerous Rebellion soldiers, pilots, mechanics, and technicians that filled the area.

"Fine" Sabine said with mock disappointment. She had grown past getting upset with the secrecy and knew now more than ever that it was essential to the survival of the Rebellion. But it still didn't stop her from asking. Their conversation turned to the mundane as the pair moved through the bustling base towards the supply warehouses.

* * *

Ezra meanwhile had reached his own decision and after retrieving his belongings and giving the cockpit one more wistful look, descended the ramp of the Gauntlet to find Kanan waiting for him at the bottom.

"Kanan, I was just going to look for you" he said somewhat shocked, wondering if his Master had sensed his inner turmoil and hoping he had not.

"Well I figured after what happened earlier you might wanna talk. And it's been a while since we've done any training. Feel like exploring this moon a bit? We still haven't found a good place to train away from the others"

Ezra closed the ramp to the ship and fell into step beside Kanan, heading towards the exit of the hanger.

"Yeah, I did actually…I've got a few things I wanted to ask you" Ezra replied, trying not to give away too much too soon. He still wasn't exactly sure how to bring up this subject with the older Jedi. While they had grown very close over the last several years, talking about romance and relationships was something that both tended to avoid when they could.

"I see" the older man said, his tone not betraying that he suspected what Ezra wanted to ask. "Does this have anything to do with the end of our last mission? With Sabine?" he continued in a casual manner.

Ezra sighed and tried to think of a way to get out of this. Kanan's immediate and successful guess regarding his thoughts put him on the spot, and he still felt a little embarrassed by the topic.

"Yeah, something like that" Ezra replied, stalling for time.

"Well how about we train first, talk later" Kanan offered, letting Ezra off the hook for now. Kanan sensed his Padawan's apprehension and knew that it might take some time to get to the crux of the issue.

The pair walked to an adjacent bay and after checking out two speeder bikes from a tired looking Rebellion maintenance officer, headed out into the sunset, the giant sphere of Yavin dominating the sky.

* * *

After retrieving a hover-crate of tools and spare parts from the supply area, Hera and Sabine entered the Ghost and made their way to the engineering section. Sabine trailed behind the older woman, looking at the well-worn surfaces of the old but dependable ship. So many of her fondest memories were formed in these halls and she felt a wave of melancholy wash over her as she wondered how many more times she would be in this ship. She entered the engineering room to see Hera already grabbing a hydrospanner from the tool box then begin removing the access panel from the hyperdrive motivator.

"Here" handing Sabine a diagnostic tool. "I'm going to disconnect the field coils and reconnect them one by one. You tell me the reading for each" Hera instructed the younger woman.

"Got it" Sabine said, turning the familiar device on and starting the self-test. Both women were more than competent with hyperdrive repair and could each do all of the tasks on their own without help, but it was always nice to have a second set of eyes and hands. Sabine's mind came back to the task at hand and she was able to, for a moment, push the nostalgia from her mind.

The pair worked in silence for several minutes, Hera halfway inside a crawlspace connecting leads to each part while Sabine checked the readouts on the diagnostic device. The work was relaxed and fairly easy, something both were thankful for. Not at all like removing blaster scoring from the hull plating or cleaning the environmental control filters. But of course they still had Ezra and Chopper for that sort of thing.

As they continued their work, Hera could tell Sabine was a little distracted. She caught Sabine staring off at nothing more than once and had to get her attention for the next reading.

"Something on your mind?" Hera asked,but heard nothing but silence in return. Hera inched her way out of the crawlspace and looked up at the young Mandalorian, seeing an unfocused look of consternation on the young girl's face.

"Sabine?"

"Hmm?" Sabine replied, looking a little startled. "Oh right…This one reads at .002, well within tolerance." She said returning to the task and trying to pass the event off as nothing.

"I asked if something was on your mind" Hera repeated warmly, standing up to face the girl.

"Why do you ask?" Sabine answered, her face flushing slightly as she unconsciously brushed her short hair down in front of her face. Hera noticed the tick and knew well enough that the Mandalorian preferred to have her face covered when she was emotional.

"You seem a little distracted" Hera said understandingly "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Hera correctly guessed that Sabine had been trying to think of a way to broach the topic while they worked, but through stubborn pride or embarrassment, had not yet done so. Better to take this into her own hands Hera thought.

"I was just wondering…about you..and Kanan" Sabine asked tentatively. Might as well get it over with.

Hera sighed. She figured this would end up in the conversation somehow, and had already talked with Kanan about what they were each willing to say to the others. They had gone so long pretending to everyone but each other that there was nothing more than professional camaraderie and friendship between them that it felt strange to be talking about openly now, but they both knew the time had come to get it out into the open, at least among the family.

"What about me and Kanan?" Hera said knowingly.

"Well…you two are obviously..very close. And I was wondering…" Sabine tried to say

"Wondering..?" Hera said, prompting her to continue.

"Well..how did you know? That you..." Sabine trailed off, unsure if it was right for her to be asking such personal questions, and deciding that it might be best to drop the whole thing. She could deal with this problem on her own. She always had, and this time would be no different.

"Forget it Hera. I'm sorry for prying. Let's get back to work" she stated with half-hearted determination, trying to reverse the conversation.

Hera set her tools down and walked past Sabine towards the small common area of the Ghost. "C'mon, if we're gonna do this, I need a caf". Sabine hesitated for a moment, knowing that the time for pretending was over, then reluctantly followed Hera. Soon the two were sitting on the bench near the Dejarik board, steaming mugs of caf in their hands.

"So how did I know…I loved Kanan." Hera started, not as a question but as a statement. Her eyes locked with Sabine's and she saw this was exactly what the girl had been insinuating.

"Well, it wasn't easy" Hera began, laying out her story from the beginning. "You remember how Ezra was when we found him? Picture that, but about tens times worse. He was cocky, arrogant, rude, and didn't seem to care about anyone but himself. He was working for a mining company, transporting explosives on some rust bucket of a ship. He even worked at a bar."

"Really?" Sabine asked, seeming like she didn't quite buy it. "Our Kanan?"

"Yup, he was a regular scoundrel. I didn't trust him one bit." Hera paused, a nostalgic look of her own in her eyes. After a moment, she went on "But there were….little things, small glimpses of who he really was. I watched him save an old man from being beaten to death, and he even saved me from some thugs in an alley, and again from a group of Stormtroopers in his bar. In between his constant flirting and smug comments, there was something else. Like the guy he seemed was some kind of act. Every time he helped me, he acted like he was put off, like it was some big inconvenience to him. He kept trying to get me to give up on my mission and go find a room with him somewhere. As if I would do that." she said with mock disgust.

"But he kept helping. Me, strangers, even some crazy ex-coworker he seemed to hate more than anyone. As much as he talked about not caring, he did keep helping. By the time our mission was over, I knew who he really was. He saved my life one last time, with the Force. When it was all over, I trusted him. Those few days together told me everything I need to know about what kind of man he really was."

"So that's when you got together? Like together together?" Sabine inquired.

"Oh no, that took a lot longer. When he joined me, it was as a partner and crewmate only" Hera laughed. "Although…and don't tell him this because he still acts like I was all over him on day one, but I was actually attracted to him. Even then. I just didn't want to do anything about it. Romance and attachments of that kind can be very distracting" she confided. Not even Kanan knew the part about Hera actually returning his attraction when they first met, and she would never live it down if she told him now. Maybe someday, but not today.

"I thought the Jedi were the ones who got all weird about love and attachments" Sabine said with a puzzled look. "You're saying it was Kanan who was chasing after you the whole time, and you were turning him down?"

"Pretty much" Hera answered, taking a sip of her caf.

"So what changed? You said love is a distraction. You weren't wrong. We have so much to deal with now. Even more than ever" Sabine countered.

"Just because it's a distraction doesn't mean it's not worth it" Hera replied. "What changed? Life Sabine. Life isn't just about the next mission, the next fight, winning the war. It's about that too, but not only that. It took me a long time to realize it, but I was running away from that whole part of life. Maybe it was because of my family." Hera leaned back into the couch, looking down at the swirling mug of liquid in her hands. She sighed and went on "Maybe because of what happened with my father, the whole idea of family and all that stuff just seemed like a waste of time. Honestly I don't know. I do know that after a few years with Kanan, I finally realized that I couldn't just live to save others. I had to live for me too."

"So when did you two actually…" Sabine trailed off with a scandalous look on her face.

"That my dear is a story for another time" Hera replied with a mischievous look.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, reflecting on what had been said so far.

"I know what that's like." Sabine said quietly. "To shut off a whole part of your life because of your past. Because of family"

It was Hera's turn to listen as Sabine began to let her words flow.

"I'm still running Hera. I'm supposed to be back with them right now. Tristan already left weeks ago" she said in frustration. "I was supposed to go back with him, help my family win the war. I thought going back the first time would make it easier but it hasn't". Sabine slumped in her chair dejectedly and stared down at her own mug, once again leaning her head down so her hair covered her eyes.

"They forgive you Sabine. Your mother and brother are on your side. You know that now" Hera offered in comfort.

"That's not it Hera. I…" she choked up, the beginning of tears just starting to form in her eyes. "It's not that I don't want to be there, it's that I don't want to not be here. With you and Kanan and Zeb…."

"And Ezra" Hera completed the sentence for her.

"And Ezra" Sabine muttered, repeating the Twi'lek's words. It was finally time to get to that part. Great.

"Is that what this is about? Why you wanted to know about Kanan and I?" Hera asked, knowing the answer but wanting to make sure she wasn't pushing Sabine too far.

Sabine sat for a moment in silence, her mind racing as fast as a pod-racer through a million thoughts and feelings before she blurted out

"I think I love him"

"And you want to know how you know for sure." Hera stated conclusively.

"I'm not good at any of this!" Sabine said, getting to her feet with her voice slightly raised in frustration. "Need me to take out a guard from 300 meters? Sure. Got a door you need to get through? I'm your girl. But __this?"__ Sabine's eyes met Hera's with a pleading look. "Where do I even start? I've never dated anyone before, I've never even kissed anyone before. I was learning to make by own fusion explosives when I was 12 and I've never, not once, done a single romantic thing with anyone"

"So you want to know what to do next." Hera replied.

"What if he doesn't even feel the same? I know he liked me once, but that was years ago. He's changed so much. Sometimes he doesn't even seem like the same person" Sabine said, thinking of the times when Ezra had gone a little too far in a fight, seemed to enjoy the battle for its own sake, not as a means to completing the mission. And of that damned Sith holocron.

"I know all about that" Hera said reassuringly. " Kanan and I have talked about it, and we both think it's under control now. Maul is gone and the holocron with him. Ezra has changed, but in a lot of ways it's for the better. And he does still feel the same".

"He does? How could you know that?" Sabine asked, her head coming up quickly.

"Some of us haven't been deliberately ignoring it for as long as you have. When you know what to look for, it's pretty obvious he still cares about you"

"I know he __cares__ about me. He __cares__ about Kanan, and you and Zeb. He even __cares__ about Chopper. But that's not the same" Sabine shot back, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Yes, he does care about all of us. But not like he cares about you. Call it a hunch Sabine, but I think if you asked him, you would get the answer you want."

"So I should just ask him? Just like that? You're kidding right?"

"No, I don't think that would be the best route to take" Hera said with a smile, "just that if you did, you wouldn't be upset by the answer. He does care for you, like that. I'm pretty good at seeing this sort of thing. I do have experience with love and Jedi you know"

"Hah, yeah I guess you do…" Sabine admitted wistfully. "But I still don't know what to __do__ about it"

"Well, have you thought about maybe flirting back?"

"Flirting back? Like make stupid comments about how pretty his eyes are, or how his abs look when he's outside training?" Sabine said sarcastically.

"Well you could try that. But there are other things you can do too. Small things. Sit next to him at briefings, put your hand on his shoulder, hold his hand. Show him you like having him around. Men tend to be pretty dense with picking up on that kind of thing, but if you do it enough, even they understand eventually. Sounds to me like that might be a good place to start. See how he responds to it. If he acts like I, and even you, know he will, you can try to take the next step. And whether you want to or not, sooner or later you're going to have to talk to him about this. I mean really __talk to him__. Not put it off or hide behind your helmet"

"I guess I could give it a shot" Sabine responded noncommittally. "But all of that takes time. And I still have to go home"

"True, but that doesn't mean you can never come back. You know where our base is, and Ezra knows where you family's home is. You can still see each other. He does have his own ship now after all"

"Wait, what? Ezra has his own ship?" Sabine said, changing the topic to something more comfortable.

"You didn't know? It's the ship you came to Chopper base on when we were under attack."

"That's __his ship?__ I thought he borrowed it or something. Huh, I guess that does make things a little easier. Wait, how did Ezra Bridger get a Mandalorian Kom'rk fighter?"

"Would you believe he got it from Maul?" Hera answered with a grin.

"Yeah, actually I would believe that. That boy does have a habit of getting into trouble" Sabine sighed. So did she of course, and she knew it. The things the two of them could get into when they were together made for quite the story. If this all worked out it would certainly be exciting to say the least.

"And you don't?" Hera replied with a smirk

"Yeah, yeah" Sabine said rolling her eyes. "At least I pull it off in style. Which reminds me…if that's his ship, it's gonna need a face-lift" her thoughts already conjuring new designs and colors for the Mandalorian fighter, and wondering how she would be able to convince Ezra to let her paint it. Stolen helmets were one thing, a ship was something else. And she didn't think the 'lively' designs she had chosen for the stolen TIE would be fitting for this project.

"I guess I'd better go find Ezra. I've got some 'flirting' to do" Sabine said with a deadpan voice, not at all looking forward to how that would turn out.

"Well that will have to wait, I believe he's out training with Kanan now. And don't forget, you did offer to help with the hyperdrive" Hera reminded, getting to her feet.

"Right" Sabine said while picking up the discarded diagnostic scanner, glad the awkward heart-to-heart was over with for now and eager to get back to something she knew. The two returned to engineering and were soon back to work, this time with both of their minds on their shared task.

* * *

20 minutes after leaving the Rebel base, the two Jedi came to a stop in a clearing next to a small stream. Parking their bikes near the edge, they walked to the center of the clearing, sounds of wildlife and running water the only noise they could hear. A cool evening had replaced the hot day and the pair began making the preparations in the comfortable pre-twilight air.

"Well at least this place doesn't have any giant spiders" Ezra said with a laugh.

"That we know of" Kana retorted with a smirk, clearing some of the grass and brush from the ground and making a spot to meditate.

"Hah…right" Ezra laughed, looking warily up into the imposing jungle trees. "But really, you don't sense anything like that around do you?" he continued, trying to sound nonchalant. Ezra still remembered the numerous run-ins the group had with the Krykna spiders on the now abandoned Chopper base. He was not eager to repeat any of those experiences, despite having learned to deal with them safely.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me" Kanan said, beginning the training. "We'll start by meditating. I want you to reach out to this world. Feel the life of it. Connect to it through the Force. This moon has an old history with the Force and the Jedi. There are many things we can both learn here."

The two knelt down on their knees in traditional Jedi fashion and began their meditation. Ezra had become much more adept at this process since he first began his training in the Jedi ways with Kanan, and normally he was easily able to calm his thoughts and emotions, becoming more in tune with the living Force. This time however his thoughts of Sabine kept breaking his concentration. The images and sensations of the life around them coming in brief flashes, only to be disrupted again by his own feelings.

"I don't think there's anything much bigger than birds out there" Ezra said finally after giving up, not entirely sure of the accuracy of his statement.

"You don't think?" Kanan prodded

Ezra sighed and tried again, his eyes closing as he tried to calm himself.

"Remember the basics Ezra. Control your breathing. Isolate each conflicting thought and let it go into the force. Let the Force guide your mind. You can't connect with the things around you until you've dealt with what's inside" his teacher said calmly, repeating lessons long since taught.

For a long while the pair knelt in silence, each reaching out with their Force senses. They could feel the strong and steady life from the old trees around them, erratic and quick movements from the various insects and birds, the ancient energy in the ground itself, as solid as the rock it rested in. After a long moment Ezra spoke.

"No, there's nothing like the Krykna spiders around here. And I don't sense any hostility towards us" he said with more certainty.

"Good, I've felt that too. You're becoming much better at this, but be mindful. Trust the Force. If it tells you something, listen."

"I will Master" Ezra said genuinely. He remembered how hard it was to even sense a person standing in front of him when he started his training those years ago. His agitation at his ineptitude and his frustrations with Kanan. In the past, Kanan's words may have drawn a sarcastic comment from him, or kindled anger at being told such a basic lesson once again, but now he took it in stride. His growth as a man and a Jedi made him aware that it was always helpful to review the basics, to go over old lessons again and reaffirm things one already knew. And he knew he wasn't a Master yet. His proclivity to jump to defend himself or spurn advice had led him down many dangerous paths in the past, and he now knew all too well that it was better to just listen to one who knew better than he.

Kanan knew what he was thinking, but decided against voicing his thoughts, simply letting the Force guide his words and actions as the life of the vibrant planet pulsated around them.

"Tell me about Sabine" Kanan said simply.

This time Ezra's apprehension and embarrassment were gone, a byproduct of tuning himself to the Force through meditation. One of Kanan's first lessons after he had learned the basics of meditating was how to let one's emotions out and into the Force itself. Opening his mind and letting things like rage, fear, and doubt flow out of him and into the world around him, leaving him with a clear mind and calm heart. And while it was a lesson that he had on many occasions forgotten or ignored, especially after his dealings with Maul and the Sith holocron, he came back to it now, preparing himself for the conversation he knew he needed to have.

"I'm in love with her and I don't want her to leave again" he said calmly, no trace of fear or nerves in his voice, and sounding very much unlike the teenage boy he was.

This was of course something Kanan already knew and had known for a long time. One didn't need to be a Jedi to see when a young man was in love. Hera had actually been the first to notice, and to tell Kanan, several years ago. While at the time Kanan had simply chalked it up to teenage hormones and crushes, over time he had not felt Ezra's feelings leave him. They had in fact only gotten stronger.

"I know" he said, taking on the sage tone of a Jedi Master that he did not think he really was, and revealing to Ezra that he had long been aware of this issue.

"You knew?" Ezra asked, opening his eyes and breaking his concentration.

"Kid, you're not exactly the most subtle person I know. Even I could see what's going on between you" the blind man joked, making light of his affliction. He had gotten over his own trepidation about his blindness back on Atollon, with the help of the entity known as The Bendu. And after confronting his own anger and fear about being blind, he grew to appreciate how it had prompted him to grow with the Force in his own right, now using it to see without seeing. And he learned that joking about it was one of the only ways to make those around him more comfortable with it as well. There were times when he felt like everyone else was more worried about his blindness than he was.

"I thought I hid it better than that" Ezra said, chagrined. "I've been trying to hide my feelings better like you taught me"

"I know that too, and you're good at it. But I'm not talking about sensing your feelings through the Force. I mean that it's pretty obvious by the way you act around her that there was something going on" Kanan responded, clarifying his earlier point.

"Well?" Ezra asked

"Well what?" Kanan returned

"Well what should I do? It's obvious she doesn't like me like that. You saw how she blew up at me earlier today. She's going to go back to her family and I'll still be here. I might never see her again" Ezra said, no longer controlling his emotions, and letting things he had long worried about finally come into words.

"Let me tell you a story". Kanan said holding one of his hands up to stop Ezra's outburst.

"Is this another Jedi parable of wisdom?" Ezra said sarcastically. "I didn't know the Jedi had many lessons on romantic relationships other than 'don't".

"No, it's not a Jedi story. It's my story. And I think it might help you." Kanan said calmly, ignoring Ezra's tone.

Kanan sat for a few moments while Ezra waited , impatience evident on his face. Kanan was busy himself trying to think of a way to say this. While it was no secret that he and Hera had developed a relationship of their own, it was also not something either liked to broadcast to the public, and both shied away from public displays of affection, outside of the few moments in the heat of battle when they let the mask slip. Telling Ezra this story would mean telling him all about it. But he knew he had to finally do it, and it was time Ezra knew the whole story. The main parts anyways.

"I've told you a bit about my time as a Padawan under Master Billaba. And you know most of what happened after I teamed up with Hera. But I know I haven't told you much about the time in between. Honestly it's not something I like thinking about much." Kanan began, letting his real history unfold for his own Padawan.

"When I met Hera I was lost. I had pushed the Force away, treated it like a disease I couldn't cure. I wandered the galaxy doing, well not doing much of anything. After Order 66 I was on the run, hunted everywhere I went. Every friend I knew was either dead or turned against me. I didn't know how to do anything besides being a Jedi, I had no skills, nothing to offer anyone. So I got by like you did, stealing, sleeping in the streets, always watching over my shoulder."

Kanan was now finally saying the things he had kept from almost everyone for years. It had been a long time before he even trusted Hera enough to tell her most of this. And some of it he knew she couldn't understand. But he also knew his student needed to know.

"After a while I was able to work a job here and there, never letting anyone know who I was or where I was from. The Empire was still on the lookout for Jedi survivors, and I knew that if anyone even suspected who I was, that would be it. So I moved around a lot, working in construction, mining, bouncing or bartending at Cantinas. Anything where I wouldn't draw much attention or be looked at too closely. I drank. A lot. I got in fights, I stole things. I even worked with a Kalleran pirate for a while."

"You were a pirate?!" Ezra interrupted

"I said I worked with a pirate….and I may have done some piracy myself, but that's not what this story is about." Kanan said, trying to move the story past that point quickly.

"Anyways" he continued before Ezra could ask more "The point is that for a long time I only had myself to rely on, so I ended up only caring about myself. I did a lot of things I'm not proud of. When Hera found me I was working as a transport pilot for a mining company on Gorse. I was a lot like you actually, well how you were when we found you. I worked at a bar on the side, mostly for drinking money. I was good friends with the bar owner at the time, or as close to 'good friends' as I had at that point in my life. I won't bore you with all the details."

"Oh I'm sure they're not that boring Master Pirate" Ezra interrupted again with a grin

"But" Kanan continued, ignoring the remark "I ended up getting involved in a plot to stop some Imperial Count from blowing up a moon. Hera was there. It was the first time I met her…..and it was when I fell in love with her" he said finally saying the words that up until today, were for Hera's ears only. "Long story short, we stopped the Count, saved the moon, and Hera offered me a choice. Stay with her as a member of her crew, or go back to the life I had been living. I chose to stay with her, and here I am."

"Nice story, but I don't see how that helps me with Sabine" Ezra said "and don't think I'm letting you off the hook. I still want to hear your pirate stories" he added on.

"It helps you with Sabine because I faced the same choice you did once, and face again now. When you chose to leave Lothal and join us, you had to decide whether you wanted to keep living on your own on the street, stealing to get by or join something greater than yourself. Find a new family. And you did it. And now you have a choice whether or not to let someone you love slip through your fingers, or at least try to see if something more is possible."

"Like you chose to go after Hera?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I'd like to say that I joined her because of her mission, to help people, to save the galaxy. But that wasn't it. I told myself the day I met her that I would follow her anywhere, and I did. And that choice led me to find you, and Zeb, and Sabine. Maybe it was a selfish motive, but sometimes the Force works in mysterious ways"

"So you're saying the Force led you to fall in love with Hera so you could help save the galaxy?"

"No, I'm saying that we can't always see why we do the things we do until after we've done them. Or what will come of it. But trusting in yourself to do what you think is right is usually a good way to end up doing the right thing. The old Jedi order would have told me, and you, to ignore those feelings. To separate yourself from all attachments. Not to trust any of your emotions, and to never act on them. But I've learned that's not always the best path. The Bendu said he was 'the one in the middle'. I think I might know more about what he meant now. As long as you don't let your passions control you, it's not always bad to heed them." Kanan finished.

"Okay…but I still don't know what to do about Sabine. She's still going to leave, and what if she doesn't feel the same way I do?" Ezra said, still not understanding the point of Kanan's story and feeling no closer to the path he should take than he did an hour ago.

"Do you really believe that?" Kanan asked, hoping to lead Ezra to arrive at the right conclusion on his own. "I know I told you never to use the Force to look into someone's mind without their permission, unless it's life or death. But you must have been able to feel something from her. She hides her feelings better than you do, but you two have spent a lot of time together, much more than you used to. You've never felt her projecting any emotions?"

"Well.." Ezra began, thinking of how many missions he had with Sabine, just the two of them, over the past year. "I guess there were a few times when I may have felt something from her. But I can't know for sure. I did what you said, I never used the Force to read her thoughts or feelings. She'd kill me if she found out anyways"

"And what did you sense those few times?" Kanan persisted.

"Like I said, nothing concrete" Ezra replied, picking up a stone and casually tossing it into the river as he looked away into the dense jungle. "Just little things. Like worry when we were on Concord Dawn with Rau and got separated. And I guess…warmth? Pleasure? Like when we got stuck doing dishes together or played a joke on Zeb. She always seemed to really enjoy stuff like that. But I don't know if it was because of me. And there was one other thing….when we first started training her with the Darksaber and she stormed off in one of her moods…I might have followed her."

"You never told me that" Kanan said, remembering that tense night with regret. He had been so focused on making sure he did it right that time when training Sabine, and his frustration that he might have messed it all up, that he hadn't noticed when Ezra had disappeared for a few minutes.

"Well you and her just got done yelling at each other and she ran off into the desert, so I went after her to make sure she was ok. I tried telling her that she was doing great and that you really did believe in her, but we ended up fighting too. When I left I felt her thinking that she really hurt me and that seemed to upset her more than anything else that night. I wanted to go back and tell her that she didn't, but I just got the feeling I shouldn't. I don't know, maybe I should have done it anyways"

"No, you were right. That was probably the Force guiding you. It's good that you listened to your first instincts Ezra" Kanan said proudly. "And those things you felt from her those times, none of them give you the impression she feels the same way about you?"

"I don't know, maybe? It's so hard to tell Kanan!" Ezra said with irritation. "You've known her longer than I have, you know how she gets. I don't think I'd be able to tell what she was feeling even if I did try to use the Force on her. She's just so…"

"Mandalorian?" Kanan finished the sentence, remembering having the same conversation with Hera on that same night.

"Yeah" Ezra answered, deflating and crossing his legs as he sat. "So even if I thought she might feel the same, there's no way to really know unless I just ask and found out. And what if she says no?"

"Then you learn to deal with that if it happens. Everyone feels Ezra. Not just Jedi or Sith. Regular people have to deal with falling in love, and the possibility that the other person doesn't feel the same way all the time. And they don't have the Force to help them through it. You do. If she doesn't feel the same way, you'll get through it. I'll help you with that. And so will Hera and Zeb." He continued "Chopper not so much" he added jokingly. "She might not feel the same way, and you'll be miserable for a time. But I know that if you don't say anything, you'll never know. And you will be miserable for a lot longer."

"So I should tell her?" Ezra asked, trying to get Kanan to commit to a solid answer for once, and failing. He swore if he ever became a Master he wasn't going to answer questions with riddles.

"I'm not saying that you should or shouldn't. Just that you need to face this issue head on. And be careful not to let chances at something good pass you up. Where would you be if you stayed on Lothal? Where would I be if I stayed on Gorse? What you don't want is to be asking yourself later 'where would I be if I would have told Sabine how I feel?' and regretting the answer."

"So you are saying I should tell her?" Ezra asked again.

"Not exactly" Kanan said. "That's a question only you can answer for yourself. But I think you already know what you should do."

Ezra sat for a long moment. Going back over in his mind all the times he had shared with Sabine. Painting the TIE, rescuing Iron Squadron, all of the little jokes and banter they had, doing chores together, him watching her paint, her watching him train. Even a few nights curled up in the gunner seat of the Ghost's lower turret, just talking about nothing at all for hours into the night. It all had to mean something. And he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't at least try to find out.

"I do" Ezra answered finally. "I need to find Sabine". Ezra got to his feet and began walking to the speeders when Kanan called out.

"Not so fast kid, we've still got lightsaber practice. I promise she'll still be there in the morning"

"I'll hold you to that" Ezra grumbled, turning around and drawing his lightsaber, but glad that so much that had been dwelling beneath the surface had finally been brought to light, and feeling a renewed fondness for his Master and all that he had done for him.

The pair got to their feet and began going through the basic forms, momentarily forgetting the past conversation, living in the moment as Jedi ought.

A/N: A much longer chapter than the previous ones. I think this one is almost as long as all the rest so far combined. I hope you like it, it was fun to write and I think I'm getting ever so slightly better. But as always, any advice or comments, reviews, corrections, etc are welcome. We're getting much closer to the big moment, but before that, some lighthearted Sabezra moments while painting the Gauntlet ;)


	6. Chapter 6 - Bonding

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

* * *

The next morning came far too early in Ezra's opinion. He and Kanan had stayed out training for several hours, neither aware of the time passing as they went through the basic lightsaber forms, then moved on to blaster deflection, and finally full on sparring. It seemed that both had many weeks of stress and frustration neither knew they were harboring, which bled out through the faux-combat. The two tired and dirty Jedi returned their speeder bikes to the motor pool and slouched back to their rooms, ready to shower and sleep until well into the next day.

But while sleep came easy for Kanan Jarrus, it was not so for Ezra. No sooner did he lay down on his bunk when his thoughts returned to Sabine, his predicament with her, and her impending second departure from his company, this time for what was likely to be much longer than the first, if not forever. Even his attempts to vent his angst into the Force were less than successful and he finally fell into a fitful sleep punctuated by random and disturbing dreams where he was alone and helpless.

The alarm on his wrist computer woke him at 0530 local time, and the bleary eyed youth growled as he stumbled into the refresher in an attempt to wash the night's misery from his mind and body. He remembered that he had no pending missions or briefings that day, and part of him wished to go back to bed, but he knew that a second round of sleep would be no more productive than the first. After dressing and strapping on his weapons belt, he groggily made his way out of his room towards the commissary.

"Kriff Ezra, you look like you wrestled a Gundark" he heard a gruff voice say from behind him as entered the large dining hall. Ezra turned to see Zeb and Kallus walking in together, looking entirely too chipper for so early in the morning.

"Perhaps he was engaged in other physical activities. The Mandalorian girl was looking rather…exhausted herself" Kallus said with a smirk. Zeb's raucous laughter filled the mostly empty room, and drew several looks.

'That guy is getting way too comfortable' Ezra thought grumpily.

"Stuff it Sideburns" Ezra retorted, unable to come up with anything more witty on such short notice.

"Oh c'mon now Kallus, everyone knows that sort of thing is a solo-mission for Ezra" Zeb continued with another laugh as the two swaggered off towards the food line.

'Great. It's gonna be one of those days' Ezra thought as he stood in the doorway, watching his two tormentors walk away.

"Make a hole kid" another voice came from behind him as a group of pilots fresh from night time security patrols pushed their way into the mess hall, laughing and carousing about whatever it is pilots find so damn hilarious.

Not wanting to stand in line behind his crewmate and his new best friend and endure more ribbing, Ezra settled on just getting a caf and sitting as far away from other people as possible. Finding an empty booth in the far corner of the room, he took a seat and put on his best glowering expression, hoping to ward off any intruders as he stewed in his irritable mood.

"Hey Ezra…is that seat taken?"

* * *

Sabine's night had gone much the same, though Sabine was more used to being able to force herself to sleep regardless of her conditions and mood. Years of military training and life by the seat of her pants with Ketsu had taught her to catch some much needed shuteye whenever and wherever possible. But while she was better rested, her mood was much the same. Unlike Ezra however, her method of dealing with a bad morning was much more effective. At 0430 she had jumped out of bed, donned her workout clothes, and began her morning routine.

Ten sets of hanging situps, pullups, weighted squats, and a 5k run later, her mood was significantly improved. Sweat poured off of her as she finished her run with some light stretches and one final leisurely walk around the perimeter track she used for her workouts. Several sets of appreciative eyes tracked her form as she walked, belonging to the security troops stationed along the base's static weapons emplacements. Her mood lifted, adrenaline pumping, and feeling a slight rush of pride in her ability to draw a gaze, a much happier Sabine began walking back towards the Ghost to shower and change for the day before breakfast.

"Morning Zeb!" she said with a bright smile as she passed him and Kallus in the hallway.

"Morning to you too. Out on your usual run again eh? I don't know how you do that so early" Zeb replied with a look on his face as if even the thought of going running at 5 in the morning made him tired.

"You shouldn't mock her _Captain_ Orrelios" Kallus said with his usual crisp Imperial accent. "Proper physical conditioning is an essential part of a soldier's regimen. Perhaps you should join me this evening while I do my training?"

"Yeah yeah, you keep offering and I'll keep turning you down. I had enough of that back with the Guard" Zeb shot back, referring to his time as a younger soldier in the Lasat High Honor Guard.

"Very well. But if I must be the one to save you next time, we'll both know why" Kallus smiled as the unlikely friends continued in the opposite direction down the hallway from Sabine.

'Those two, who would have that _they_ would end up friends. Almost as unlikely as a Mandalorian and a Jedi' Sabine remarked to herself as she strolled up the ramp of the Ghost and towards her room, stripping off her top as she did.

After a long and relaxing shower, Sabine stood in front of the full length mirror in her quarters, admiring her toned body, the reward of years of hard mornings just like this one. A long semi-permanent tattoo of an intricate Mandalorian design wound its way from her lower left hip, up her stomach, around her back, and finally across her chest to just below her neck. Unlike a traditional tattoo which was a life-long commitment, Sabine preferred this sort which could be erased with application of sound waves at just the right frequency. While body art was something that appealed to her almost as much as other forms of artistic expression; like her frequently changing hair colors, it was never something she could settle on forever. She had to be free to wash it away and start all over again.

After drying off and putting on her usual undergarments of sports bra and short elastic shorts, she slowly drew her tight body suit up her body and sealed it closed around her, covering the tattoo with the rest of her. Her fondness for wearing this under-layer of her armor as everyday clothes, always ready to have the armor itself attached before battle, was the main reason why no one but her even knew she had tattoos of any kind. She liked it better that way. Some forms of expression are meant for her and her alone. For now anyway.

As she began picking up the pieces of her armor to begin the familiar routine of connecting them to the attachment points on the suit, her thoughts returned to yesterday's lessons from Hera.

'Start flirting with Ezra…great'

While this wasn't something she had much experience in, she had seen enough of Ketsu's "interactions" with the occasional dashing rouge in some cantina to know how it worked. She was inexperienced, not stupid. And she certainly wasn't shy either. That was a quality not often found among any Mandalorian, and Clan Wren least of all.

With one final sigh she set her armor back down on its pedestal and looked at herself in the mirror.

'If this doesn't get his attention, I can always shoot him' she thought with a grin and fastened her own weapon belt to her waist. 'Skipping the armor is one thing, not bringing my weapons is just not gonna happen'. Her dressing completely, with one last look in the mirror she began the journey to the mess hall for breakfast.

The doors swished open to reveal a mostly empty dining room, with scattered groups of pilots, techs, and a few officers engaged in quiet discussion over their morning meal and caf. The only loud noises coming from one group of pilots as well as Zeb, who with Kallus, had apparently joined them and were in the middle of swapping stories.

Her eyes scanned the room hopefully until they found the target of her search. Alone in a far corner, Ezra sat by himself, fiddling with his wrist computer and glowering, only a cup of caf in front of him. The decision already made, she entered the short line for food and loaded a tray with assorted fruits and cereal bars, enough for two, as well as he own cup of caf.

As she neared the end of the line, her heart rate began to rise. This was it, time to put her plan into action. Carrying her loaded tray and walking over to Ezra's corner she stood in front of his table, Ezra too lost in his own thoughts to even notice her approach.

"Alright, here goes nothing' she thought, denying her one last opportunity to call this whole thing off and go back to the comfortable solitude of her room on the Ghost.

"Hey Ezra…is that seat taken?"

* * *

His mind barely registered the words as he heard them, too busy distracting himself with some game on his wrist computer in a half-hearted attempt to lighten his own mood. He slowly brought his head up with annoyance, ready to tell whoever this was to find somewhere else to sit. He wasn't in mood to entertain some random rebel with small talk this morning, or worse yet, some starry-eyed girl with thoughts of flirting with the 'mysterious Jedi'.

On second thought, he was very much in the mood for company. His mouth drooped open on its own accord as his eyes drank in the lithe form of Sabine, standing there in front of him with a smile brighter than Tatooine's sun. He would have gotten lost in her lovely almond eyes if his own had gotten that far. They of course stopped short as he noted that places which were normally hidden by hard armor plating and bright paint were instead covered only with the skin tight black material which made up her body suit.

"Good morning to you too" Sabine said as she noted his looks. 'Maybe this will work after all' she thought giddily as she ignored his lack of response and sat down, not across from him, but next to him in the booth.

"I saw you didn't have any food so I got extra, help yourself" she continued as she placed the tray in between them.

"Uhh thanks Sabine.. and good morning" Ezra gulped, taking his eyes off her and looking down to the tray.

'What is _this_ all about? Is she trying to apologize for yesterday?' he asked himself as he busied with the food, trying to distract himself from the presence next to him. The last thing he needed was her to slug him for staring at her, something he knew she would have no problem doing.

"So what do you have going on today?" Sabine asked casually, choosing not to make fun of Ezra's discomfort. The two had eaten many meals together, both with the rest of the the crew and one on one, but this was the first time she had chosen to sit next to him when there was an obviously empty seat across the table.

Getting a grip on himself and deciding not to keep digging the hole deeper, Ezra calmed himself and pushed his amorous thoughts aside. She wasn't flirting with him, she's just being nice because of the argument yesterday. It doesn't mean any more than that. Better to just act like normal and go back to being friends. Despite his resolution to deal with his Sabine feelings last night after his discussion with Kanan, now he wasn't so sure about charging head first into the topic.

'I've got to feel her out first. I'm not backing down, I'm just taking my time. It's a tactical decision. I'm reconning the situation, just like Kanan would want' he assured himself as he began to answer her question.

"Not sure yet, probably training at some point later. Hera wanted me to help scrub the outer hull of the Ghost, of course" he said with mock-enthusiasm. He wasn't sure why after all these years the crap jobs still fell to him. You'd think being a powerful and mysterious Jedi would count for something. But he couldn't say no to Hera even if he wanted to. She had become like a mother to him and even chores like this were something he had grudgingly learned to tolerate, if not appreciate.

"Sounds like fun" Sabine laughed "I'd volunteer to help you, but I really don't want to. So you're on your own"

"Gee thanks, that means so much to me" Ezra chuckled, his own mood brightening a bit just from her closeness to him. It took a lot to keep him down when he was in the same room as her, even more so when she was sitting this close to him.

"What's with you anyways? I never see you without your armor." Ezra asked suspiciously while stuffing his face.

"Uhh well it's drying" she lied, "Had to touch up a few things since the last fight, didn't want to ruin it by wearing it so soon"

Before Ezra could begin to poke hole in her explanation she continued

"Tell ya what, once you're done with your chores, if you don't have anything else going on, we could do some more lightsaber practice. I haven't had a real Jedi to teach me in weeks" she said sweetly and without an ounce of sarcasm.

Looking up at her and waiting for the punchline he knew was coming he answered shrewdly "You sure you don't want Kanan to help you?"

Of course he wanted to help teach her and of course he didn't want her to say yes to his question. Inwardly his heart leapt at her suggestion, but he was certain she was setting him up for a joke of some kind, and his old reaction of jumping at the chance would just make her laugh even harder.

"Trust me, I'm sure. Kanan is great, but you remember last time…I think it'd be better with just the two of us for now. Besides, I can still kick your butt. That always puts me in a good mood" she said as she winked at him.

"Hey! I was just going easy on you last time. There's no way you'd beat me for real" Ezra shot back with pretend anger, smiling despite his words.

"I guess we'll just have to see about that Bridger. I'm officially calling you out for a rematch. The winner gets…." she smirked back, leaning in close to him, her eyes piercing into his as she spoke, preparing to end her statement with something that was sure to shock even the precognitive Jedi.

Ezra's heart stopped beating as Sabine's face lingered just inches away from his, the sounds of the now crowded mess hall fading as he stared back into her bottomless amber eyes. If he knew what she was thinking and feeling, he might have closed the distance. But as young Padawans often do, he forgot his training and had not been using his Force senses this entire morning. So he didn't feel how much she wanted to kiss him at that moment. Her desire was pouring off her with as much sensual force as she could muster, only to have it go completely unnoticed by one of the only two people on the entire base who should have been able to feel it from across the room.

"Hey you two, didn't you get enough of that last night?" a low voice interrupted with a laugh, spoiling the moment and turning both of their faces crimson. They shot away from each other and looked up to see Zeb and Kallus standing in front of their table with mirth etched plainly on their faces.

"Ah, to have the vigor of youth. Be careful to save some of that energy for the enemy" Kallus chimed in, bouncing his remarks off of Zeb's in a way that had become all too common for the pair, much to the annoyance of Ezra.

Sabine for her part was just confused. "Last night? What are you talking about?" she asked with mild annoyance at the two men for spoiling her moment.

"Ask Ezra" Zeb laughed back

"He'll tell you all about it" Kallus once again finished, as they left the two youths in embarrassed silence, walking towards the exit.

"Last night? What was he talking about?" Sabine reiterated to Ezra, eyeing him closely.

"Uh, nothing. I don't know what they're talking about. Ha ha you know that Zeb, always a joker" Ezra blurted out in a quick jumble of words. That was not something he wanted to be bringing up right now, not with her, and not after that…whatever it was that just happened between them.

"Thanks for the breakfast Sabine, I gotta go help Hera" he said quickly gathering up the now empty tray and his mug.

"Don't think you're weaseling out of our rematch Bridger!" she shouted after him as he quickly walked away.

Unable to resist the challenge, and unwilling to leave the battlefield of wits a coward, he turned around and flashed her his trademark lopsided grin "Not on your life Wren. This afternoon, you're mine"

Sabine sat in the now deserted booth, a content smile on her face. "Yours huh?" she said quietly to no one but herself. "We'll see about that"

A/N: I have no idea if Sabine has tattoos, but let's be real, she's probably the kind of girl who would, especially if they were some kind of semi-permanent type she could remove and redo on a whim. You're telling me a spunky badass woman like that who constantly dyes her hair and spent a few years kicking ass as a bounty hunter wouldn't at least consider some body art? I'm not buying it. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the Gauntlet and the paint job it badly needs.


	7. Chapter 7 - Surprises

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

A/N: Part of this story is slightly inspired by a throwaway line from foxykitsune's fic "10 Sabezra First Kisses". It's a fantastic though sadly incomplete and possible abandoned series of one-shots. I don't think it's on here but you can find it on Archive of Our Own. If you haven't read it, or his/her other Sabezra works, you're really missing out. You should go read them.

* * *

Midday on Yavin 4 was no joke Ezra thought to himself as he knelt upon the hot metal plating of the Ghost's upper hull. As a native of Lothal, he had thought he knew what heat was. Even the parched desert planet of Tatooine seemed cool in comparison. But this kriffing humidity was killing him. Despite stripping down to just his pants hours ago, it had done little to help, and he couldn't help but envy the droid and its inability to feel human sensations like heat or discomfort.

"Grab me another can of sealant Chop, I think this is the last section" he told the droid, standing up to stretch and grab a drink of water while he waited for his mechanical buddy to return. Ezra had a few moments to himself and he used them to reconnect with the Force. While there was little it could do to make the work any cooler, at least that he knew of, it could help him vent some of the frustration that had been building all morning. Of all the days to be stuck doing hull repairs outdoors, it had to be one of the hottest ones on record that he knew of. He longed to be back inside his room, soaking up the chilly and dry air from the environmental control unit. Or better yet, inside the Ghost…maybe in Sabine's room watching her paint. The thought caused him to smile to himself, then suddenly remember his big surprise. 'The Gauntlet! I've gotta think of a way to surprise her. But that can wait' he thought with resignation. First he had to finish his chores.

Thankfully his task was almost complete and he had only one more blaster score to clean and reseal. Chopper returned with the can and the two bent back to their work, the droid using one of his many appendages to remove the charred pitting from the armor while Ezra followed with the repair patch and sealant. It was backbreaking work, especially in the sweltering jungle heat, but soon the two were finished and were ready to collect their gear and clean up.

As Ezra and Chopper labored away in the punishing sun of the jungle moon, a slender feminine figure watched from a distance. Still wearing nothing but her bodysuit, Sabine was not nearly as bothered by the thick humid air as Ezra clearly was. The built in network of gel-filled micro-tubes that ran throughout the suit did a fantastic job of regulating her body temperature. 'Mandalorian engineering wins' again she thought to herself as she gazed at the object of her desire. She stood in the doorway of the large overhang, almost wishing she had her helmet with her. The targeting module and its ocular zoom would be pretty helpful right about now…

After enjoying the brief fantasy for a few moments, she looked back up to see that the boy and his droid were just finishing up.

"You two finally done?" a sweet voice sounded from the ground below the ship. Ezra walked to the edge to find Sabine looking up at him, with a peculiar look on her face. Realizing his nakedness from the waist up, Ezra felt a flash of embarrassment as he noticed her noticing him.

'Remember what Hera said' Sabine thought as she saw Ezra realize his state of undress.

"I hope not, I was enjoying the show" she said with a wink.

Ezra's face reddened even more as he quickly moved away from the edge and vanished, only to return a moment later wearing his t-shirt.

"Yeah we just got done. It would have been a lot faster if we had more help" he said pointedly.

"First I bring you breakfast and now you're wanting me to do your chores for you? See what I get for being nice." She mocked as Ezra climbed down an access ladder to the ground. Sabine took the moment to admire the view from behind before he reached the ground to face her.

"Yeah well you weren't up here all morning in this kriffing heat. Why can't Hera have one of the maintenance guys do this stuff?" Ezra pouted while he packed up the last of the repair tools into a hovercrate.

"Trust those randos with her ship? Are we talking about the same Hera Syndulla? Sabine laughed in response.

"I'm just saying they've got an entire base full of people now, and I'm still stuck doing all of the grunt work like we're alone back on Garel. I'm a Lieutenant Commander, I could supervise them."

"Hah, you supervise? I thought you were trying to convince me it was a __good__ idea to have someone else do this kind of work" Sabine continued to joke with him.

"Oh ha ha. Where were you all morning anyways?"

"Laying around inside, enjoying the cool air and laughing at you" Sabine said, but a quick look of annoyance changed her tune. "No, I was actually helping Rex with the base defenses. They don't even have the ion cannon set up yet, or the dampening field. He asked me to help the ground crews get things started."

"Oh so you can supervise but not me?" Ezra asked, his annoyance not yet dissipated.

"Well what can I say, I'm better than you." She smiled sweetly and gave him a light punch on the shoulder. "And more trustworthy, more reliable, better looking…"

"Now you're just rubbing it in" Ezra said, his mood lightening despite his aggravation, seeing how playful she was being and enjoying it.

"Only because you're so much fun to tease. And you make it easy" she said as she helped him pick up a tool box and set it on top of the crate. Soon the pair were pushing the tools back towards the supply area, continuing their banter.

"Oh I brought you lunch" Sabine said, reaching into a pouch on her side and pulling out a few pieces of fruit, an energy bar, some bread, and a pouch of some sort of flavored beverage.

"See, I can still be nice" she said as turned to look at him. "Even if all it gets me is insults" she added in a playful tone. The cart returned, the two teenagers sat on the ground, backs against the wall, their bodies close enough that both were unsure if it made the other uncomfortable, but secretly each hoping the other wouldn't say anything, or move. Rebellion repair crews and other personnel continued walking through the area, looking at the young couple laughing and relaxing, oblivious to the smiles their obvious closeness was garnering. After their meal, both knew it would soon be time to leave, but neither wanted to make the first move. Once again thinking back to Hera's advice, Sabine pretended like she was stretching, taking the moment to shift her body closer to his and drape one of her legs over his.

Sabine let out a content sigh, closed her eyes, and laid her head on Ezra's shoulder, almost as if preparing for a nap. Ezra shifted as well, putting his hand on Sabine's leg, next to where her own hand rested, barely letting his fingers touch hers.

"Don't think this gets you out of the ass-kicking I owe you. I still want my rematch" Sabine mumbled, keeping her eyes closed.

"Yeah…about that" Ezra said. He wasn't backing out, but he had other plans for her. Better plans, and he wasn't sure if he would get another opportunity like this. The two of them already together, a free afternoon with no missions or training. And while lightsaber training was important, he knew she would easily forget all about it when he sprung his surprise on her.

"What do you mean 'about that' Ezra Bridger?" Sabine said in a stronger voice, lifting her head up and giving him a level look, but also not moving her leg from his.

"Well I had an idea" he said tentatively.

"It had better be a good one if you think it's going to be enough to get you out of fighting me. If this is some trick or prank of yours, I swear.."

"Trust me, you'll love it" he said in defense.

"Well let's hear it, and I'll decide if it's good enough to spare you my wrath" she continued, not sparing him her wrath right now.

"I can't tell you. I have to show you. It's kind of a surprise. But you'll love it, trust me" he said quickly, hoping to alleviate her annoyance.

Sabine's mind briefly flashed to an image of her room on the Ghost, discarded clothing strewn haphazardly about the floor, two people laying in bed, one with short dark blue hair, the other with longer hair of blue and white.

Suppressing the pleasing image, sure that it wasn't going to be that kind of surprise she briefly considered denying him, but her interest was piqued.

"At least give me a hint. I brought you food. Twice". She countered.

"Nope, you gotta see it. I'm not gonna spoil it no matter how much you beg" Ezra said, getting to his feet and drawing a disappointed grumble from the obviously comfortable girl sprawled out beside, and on top of, him.

"Fiiiinnneee" she uncharacteristically whined as he held out his hand, pulling her to her feet along side him. As he began to walk, she noted that he hadn't let go of her hand, and she had no intention of doing so herself. The feel of his strong and calloused fingers around her own smaller and more delicate but no less capable hand felt comforting to her, and it was a feeling she did not want to lose. Hand in hand, Ezra led her through the sprawling base, through narrow corridors and wide open bays, past crowds of people and droids going about the daily work of opposing a galactic empire.

Ezra slowed to a stop as they neared a large building with a several side doors and various pieces of industrial equipment along the walls.

"Close your eyes" Ezra said, still not letting go of her hand.

"So you can pull some prank or spray me with something? Not a chance" She said obstinately

"Aww c'mon Sabine, I said you'll like it. Don't you…trust me?" He said with fake hurt, giving her his best sad expression.

She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, planning what she would do if this was indeed some joke or trick.

"Fine, but if Zeb is waiting behind that door with a bucket of slime or something, you're both dead." she said finally, closing her eyes and letting him lead her slowly through the door, and then through it.

* * *

"Ok, you can open your eyes now"

Sabine's hand was still warm as she reluctantly felt Ezra's fingers leave hers. The walk to what she now saw was a hanger bay had been too brief, and she relished the physical contact with the young man standing next to her. Her heart racing, she had slowly opened her eyes and took in the scene.

Before her stood a ship. Familiar, yet not so. A starship both elegant and rugged. Beautiful in design, deadly in purpose. Stark white, immaculately bare, gleaming under the bright hanger lights.

"Ezra…I…" She breathed, still in awe of the vessel. She turned to him, mouth agape and eyes wide. "What…" she said, her mind still catching up to the sight and simply expelling words without meaning to fill the gap.

"Your new canvas my lady" Ezra grinned with a mock bow.

Her shock doubled, not quite believing the words she was fairly certain she heard.

"My what?"

"Your new canvas" Ezra repeated, once again taking her hand and leading her towards the ship, his own grin growing in spite of himself. He was certain his plan had worked. As Sabine's amazed expression slowly morphed into one of delight, his own heart soared in response. Her smile. It was captivating.

Sabine had a limited number of expressions in his experience. Her most common; the look of grim determination, mouth closed to a tight line, brows furrowed, eyes burning, ready to deal death upon anyone who harmed her family or besmirched her honor. Unstoppable. Insurmountable. Mandalorian.

Others painfully included the rare looks of abject sadness, despair, and hopelessness. Often expressed at times when she was not aware of the strength others could so plainly see. When the weight on her shoulders was not too heavy for her to bear, but she thought it so. His mind returned to her sitting on the rocks outside their makeshift encampment, the week they first trained with the Darksaber, and her desperate plea for acceptance and forgiveness from her family, both of which she had been granted.

Other times, happier times, she wore a countenance of smug superiority, not undue or unearned. When she had pulled off a particularly successful prank, or had just the right tool for the job when all others were lacking, when her shot hit the mark, as they always did. Her swagger and confidence pouring out of her, eyes glowing with laughter just under the surface. A slight smirk, one eyebrow raised, ready with a cutting joke or sarcastic comment, not in malice, but in jest.

But even that sort of smile paled in comparison with this. This smile. It filled his heart with a warmth like the sun on a desert landscape. It blinded his eyes with the radiance of a lightsaber cutting through darkness. An uncovered lantern in a dark cave. The comforting heat of a fire on a cold night. All of that and more. This smile which he had rarely if ever seen matched by her, seemed to reveal a part of her soul that she worked hard to keep shrouded all other times. A joyful, carefree, uninhibited side of her as if all the pain and weariness of war were washed away, leaving only a simple girl, free to enjoy her passion.

Ezra's shock and amazement at her reaction alone made all of this worth it. So caught up in the moment was he that he barely had time to register the new weight in his arms. Sabine had closed the distance between them in a flash, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace.

Awkwardly he returned the gesture, placing his own arms around her, not entirely sure of where to place his hands, and not wanting to ruin the moment with something that might earn him a firm smack. Her chin resting on his shoulder, he was now fully aware of how much he had grown in the span of years since he first laid eyes on this woman in his arms. He felt her raise herself slightly on her toes in order to more comfortably fit her body with his. His hands felt the smooth thin material of her bodysuit, and the firm muscle underneath. A scent of sweat, engine oil, and..something else he couldn't quite put his finger on, but something distinctively feminine, filled his nose and clouded his mind. Her bright hair filling his vision as they stood there, close enough to be as one person. And through the Force, he felt the power of her life itself, kindled like a burning flame, mixing with his own. Pure, sparkling with energy, and drowning out his own thoughts and feelings with undiluted joy.

"Thanks you Ezra Bridger" he heard a small voice whisper in his ear. The slight movement of the air from the words tickling his neck and making the hairs stand up as what felt like electricity shot through him.

He would have given anything, his lightsaber, his Force abilities, his life, to have this moment never end. But it did.

As quickly as it began, the weight was gone. Along with it, the warmth and euphoria that had been his but for a moment. Sabine shot out of his arms and began darting too and fro, around the ship, climbing up on nearby supports and equipment lifts, her eyes taking in every angle of the ship.

Ezra stood back and simply watched the process in action. He knew well enough not to disturb the artist in her element. Arms folded and leaning against a nearby shipping container, he was content to enjoy the scene from afar. He could feel her mind racing, likely dreaming up new designs and patterns, matching them with the ship in her mind's eye. While the bliss of their embrace had passed, his heart was still elated to see her like this. Every so often she would turn to him and flash him another smile, her large almond eyes dancing with unbridled delight.

After the initial flurry of activity, she began to slow. Her analytic mind taking over for where her artist's heart left off. She slowly circled the ship, making calculations, internally debating about what sort of paints to use, how to apply it, the right shading, everything she needed to make her dreams something more real.

Seemingly content with her final decisions, she walked back over to him, another smile, more mild but no less genuine gracing her lips.

"Thank you again Ezra…I don't even know.."

"Don't worry about it Sabine" Ezra chuckled. "After the fun we had with the TIE, I figured you needed another big project. And I couldn't stand that nasty black and red thing Maul had going on."

"You really got this from Maul? Hera told me about that. I wasn't sure I really believed it" Sabine replied, easing up to lean next to him on the container.

"Wellllll…let's just say he wasn't going to be needing it anymore. And I needed a ride off the planet. So here it is"

"Planet? Now that you mention it, I don't think you've told me that story yet" she asked, looking at him quizzically. Sabine had her own score to settle with Maul, for what he did to her with the NIghtsisters, not to mention the grief he has caused her entire planet years before.

Ezra stood for a long moment, not entirely sure what to say, and what if anything he even should. Only Kanan knew the full story. As his Jedi Master, Kanan had every right to know of his dealings with Maul, and of his meeting with the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi. But Kanan had also cautioned him against telling anyone else the more specific details of that event. Kenobi was clearly on Tatooine for a reason, and an important and secret one at that. While Kanan said that he had only met Kenobi himself on a handful of occasions, back before the fall of the Republic, he respected the man enough to know that anything he did must be of dire importance to the galaxy itself, and it would not do to let his location become common knowledge.

"I..uhh..well…" he began, once again putting his hand up behind his head and looking down.

"I'm not supposed to tell you…" He finally said, looking into her eyes and hoping it would not become an issue.

"It kinda involves some Jedi stuff. Secret Jedi stuff. Kanan made me promise not to tell anyone Sabine. Please, I know that sounds bad, and it's not like I don't trust you, but I just can't. Not right now."

Sabine looked back at him, words of rebuke almost forming on her lips. But the pained look in his eyes made her hesitate just long enough to think. She trusted him. She trusted Kanan. And they trusted her. She was no fan of secrecy for secrecy's sake, and sometimes the mystical "Jedi stuff" grated on her in ways she usually kept to herself. Always going off to speak in whispers together, meditating, going on secret missions without her. The way Ezra, Kanan, and Ashoka had left them on their mission to Malachor had been a painful day for her. Unable, or unwilling, to tell anyone why they were leaving and when or if they would be back. Leaving her, Zeb and Hera to fend for themselves. That whole ordeal had left her miserable in ways she barely thought possible until it happened.

And she knew Hera felt the same. Now that she knew the depth of Hera and Kanan's relationship, she was more aware of how painful their departure had been. But Hera had accepted it. Hera understood that sometimes Jedi must do things that others simply cannot understand. Go places where they just can't be followed. And Hera trusted and loved Kanan enough to respect that part of his life.

She would do the same. She loved this man, this Jedi. And if his path meant there were things she could not share with him as a non-Force user, she had to learn to deal with that, or call the whole thing off. She __would not__ be the thing that got in the way of him following his own path. The thought of Ezra choosing to leave his own life unfulfilled just to appease her own issues rubbed at her own stubborn Mandalorian pride. She would not be the weak link. Not here, not anywhere. She could and would deal with this.

"I understand Ezra. It's ok" she said simply, leaving him unaware of the myriad of thoughts that drove her towards that statement.

"You..do?" Ezra answered, seemingly already prepared to either fight her on the issue, or worse, give in and tell her everything to make her happy.

"You're a Jedi. I'm not. Sometimes that means there are things I can't know. I get it Ezra, I really do" she reassured him, reaching out to take his hand in hers once again.

"And besides, you're giving me a whole ship to play with, I figure this makes us even" she said with a sly grin.

"Hey, I'm not giving it to you. I'm letting you borrow it for artistic reasons" he laughed back.

"Uh huh, like you wouldn't give it to me if I asked" she responded again, poking fun at him and causing his cheeks to redden slightly.

"Keep it up Mando girl, see if you can talk your way out of me letting you touch __my__ ship" he shot back, his own grin forming on his face in response to her.

"You wouldn't dare, and we both know it" she laughed back. "So when do we start? I gotta find paint and applicators somewhere. You think the Rebellion would mind me borrowing some of theirs? I'm sure you didn't paint it all white on your own. As if you could manage that"

"That's it, I'm calling this off. You had your shot and you blew it" Ezra jokingly threatened, pretending to stand up and begin walking away from her.

"Oh shut it Master Jedi. Really though, where am I even going to get paint for this?" She replied, not buying his transparent attempt to get a rise out of her.

Ezra turned back to face her, his own deep blue eyes sparkling.

"Already got that covered. There's paint and tools inside" He said, and as if as an afterthought, "race ya there".

Ezra shot off in a sprint, racing towards the lowered ramp of the ship. If Sabine was startled, it didn't last long, and moments later her own long legs propelled her in pursuit. She was tempted to use the grappling line in her vambraces to trip him up, but remembered she still hadn't put them on that day.

"Karabast" she growled, using one of Zeb's famous aphorisms, closing the distance with the boy enough to reach out and grab at him.

"AHH no fair!" Ezra laughed as she pulled at him on the incline of the ramp, causing both of them to fall to the ground. The two grappled on the ramp, each trying to crawl up the ramp or pull the other back in turn. Ezra was at a distinct disadvantage in this aspect as Sabine's own smooth outfit offered little for him to grip to, whereas his own pants and jacket gave her much to pull on.

In one final tug Sabine grabbed at Ezra's pants leg and pulled him down to her level, at the same time getting to her feet and dashing up the last stretch of the ramp.

"Ha! Beat you again!" She shouted at the top, while a grumbling Ezra got to his feet and followed up to meet her.

"That's just because you fight dirty" Ezra protested, catching his breath at the top of the entry way.

"Oh please, you got a head start. And all Jedi should know that we Mandalorians fight to win. Don't blame me for you being unprepared" she snickered.

"So, what do I win?" she asked with a victorious smile.

"You win the opportunity to paint my ship" Ezra retorted.

"Lame. I already had that. You're no fun" Sabine said with a false air of disappointment. "Anyways, where's my paint. You owe me that at least"

"Right this way oh Champion" Ezra said sarcastically, but in a teasing tone.

Sabine followed Ezra through the tight corridors of the ship, finally arriving at a small storage room with lockers inside. Ezra stepped in and opened the locker, revealing several rows of industrial starship paint, labeled in various colors, along with an aerosol applicator, and nozzles of differing sizes.

"Not bad" Sabine said appreciatively as she eyed the collection. "I may have to 'borrow' some of this on our next mission." Dreams of the glorious graffiti she might make with such tools briefly distracted her as she picked up the applicator and held it in her hands.

Her distraction was long enough that Ezra was able to snatch the device from her, whirl to face her with his own devious grin, and hold the precious tool behind his back.

"Not so fast miss Wren" Ezra said. "First you have to promise me you're not going to do anything too crazy to my ship. I liked the TIE designs, but I'm not going to go save the galaxy in a pink and orange fighter"

Sabine was startled when he made his move, but that quickly turned to indignation.

"Crazy? You can't put those kind of limits on me. An artist has to be free to follow her inspiration" she responded, putting her hands on her hips and giving him a withering glare.

"You heard me. Not one drop until you promise it'll be something cool. I am a badass after all, I gotta have something worthy of my talents." he said, not backing down, but not letting the amusement leave his face, still holding his hands behind his back and giving her his best trademark grin.

Sabine glared at him for another moment, making her careful plan. She would win this. It would just take some…creative moves. 'Alright girl' she thought. 'Let's see if he can handle this. And Hera did say I should be more proactive…' Slowly she began pacing forwards, hips swaying and putting the most sultry expression she could muster on her face.

Ezra was unprepared for this. He watched the form of the young woman steadily moving towards him, his eyes moving up her long athletic legs, her slender waist and athletic stomach, the supple curves of her chest straining against the skin tight bodysuit. Past her delicate neckline, to her pouty lips, and her deep amber eyes, covered ever so slightly by her vibrant hair. He took a step back. And then another. She was still moving closer, the look of a Loth-cat stalking its prey obvious on her face. Another step back. And then ano..no now his back was against the wall of the room. He was cornered.

Sabine continued to move closer, her own eyes piercing into his. She was inches away now and she could hear his labored breathing. Her body moved closer. Now just barely touching him. She continued to look up into his eyes as she brought her arms up, placing her hands lightly on his chest. She could feel his heart beating under the tight shirt he wore under his open jacket. Her hands began delicately tracing the outline of his well defined pectoral muscles and she brought herself even closer, now fully pressing her body into his.

Slowly she moved her hands around his chest to his back, pushing herself into him even more, now her head slowly moving up to his own.

Ezra stood, back against the wall, dumbstruck with shock and excitement. He could feel every inch of her now, one of her smooth legs moving between his, her breasts against his own chest, firm yet soft. Her eyes still moving closer as she brought her face toward his, now their noses just barely touching. Her head began moving to the side, her soft lips almost but not quite caressing his cheek as she moved in. He could feel her hot breath on his ear, just as he had outside, but this time the energy he felt was not one of pure delight and joy, but of need and desire. The natural imperative for one young body to connect with another, in every way possible.

Sabine moved her hands around his back, pulling him in to a deep embrace. Ezra was motionless, giving away nothing of his own thoughts as she made her move. Only the involuntarily reaction she felt with her own legs as she brushed between his told her the plan was working perfectly. Her hands now rested on the small of his back, her chest pressed into his, mouth only millimeters away from his ear. The warmth between her own legs told her she'd better get on with it or she might throw this plan away and do something more more…exciting.

"Ezra…" she said in a low whisper, letting her lips brush his ear, feeling his body tense up at her words.

She briefly let her tongue slide out and touch his ear lobe before continuing, the slight sensation there and gone again, leaving him to wonder if it really happened.

"I told you…." she said in an almost inaudible voice, dripping with lust.

And in an instant she grabbed the paint applicator from his hands and darted out of the storage room, stopping only for a moment in the doorway to look back at him, give him her own devious smile, and say

"I fight dirty"

Then she was gone.


	8. Chapter 8 - Fighting

Ezra stood for a few moments, back against the cold durasteel wall, and the even colder space formerly occupied by Sabine Wren in front of him. Mouth still gaping, his mind worked furiously to catch up to what had just happened. His heart pounded in his chest, knees still shaking from her sudden closeness and the even more sudden disappearance.

If he had stopped for a few moments to really think about this last development, he may have come to the right conclusion, found Sabine, and given her the kiss she had very nearly started and clearly wanted. But it wasn't clear to him, and he didn't stop to think.

Instead, he rushed out of the storage room in hot pursuit, stumbling as the door closed in his face after her departure only to have it open again as he fell through the opening. Getting to his feet, he looked down the hallway and saw the laughing form of Sabine vanish around the corner.

"Sabine! Wait!" he shouted, getting to his feet and resuming the chase.

"I win again!" a melodic voice drifted up from outside the ship through the open ramp.

Embarrassment at having been so easily outmaneuvered driving him forward, he ran down the ramp and looked furiously about the cavernous hanger bay, seeing no sign of the girl who had once against bested him.

"Sabine!" he shouted in vain, knowing the game wasn't finished, not by a long shot.

"What's the matter Ezra?" her heard her goad him from behind a nearby stack of containers "Don't tell me you can't find one person in an empty room"

Ezra shot towards the containers and ducked behind them, fully expecting to see her waiting for him. But he found nothing but more equipment and no Sabine.

"C'mon Jedi, I thought Kanan trained you better than that" she laughed, this time from further across the bay, behind the ship.

Ezra growled to himself with mounting frustration. If he was going to beat her, he had to be smarter than this. He stopped for a moment, closing his eyes, using his now well-honed skills to calm his nerves, then reaching out with the Force for any signs of life in the bay not his own.

There, on top of his ship, crouching behind one of the vertical wings and just out of view. He felt the bright energy of the only other person in the room, and could feel her laughter as easily as he could hear it.

He knew if he just ran at her, she would vanish again, one step ahead of him as usual. But two could play this game he thought to himself devilishly. Seeing another stack of crates just beyond and under where he now knew she was hiding, he made an obvious show of stalking in that direction, hoping she would think he had wrongly guessed where she lay.

Still aware of her through the Force, he walked under the ship and past her hiding place, knowing full well she was looking down on him from behind, ready with another taunt.

Slowly he moved into position, looking for all appearances like he was certain she was behind the crates. He had to time this perfectly. Tapping into his abilities he made his move. Not forward, but up.

Ezra sprang into the air, making a textbook backflip that carried him up and over the vertical wing, at least 20 meters straight up, and landing in a well-balanced crouch. Directly behind Sabine.

"Gotcha!" he cried triumphantly as the girl whirled around in shock.

Sabine reacted as quickly as expected, not ready to give up just yet. She tucked her own legs in, readying for a leap of her own, unenhanced through the Force but aided by years of training and conditioning.

In a blink she jumped off the top of the ship, aiming for a space directly in front of the open doorway to the hanger. Her body sailed through the air, contorting in preparation for her own perfect landing.

But it never came. Only 1 meter from the ground, she stopped.

Not yet realizing what had happened, she struggled in vain against the unseen impediment, but like a ship in a tractor beam, her body hovered, unmoving in the empty air, dangling and helpless.

"What was that you said? 'I win again'?" the smug masculine voice came came from behind her.

She felt her body move, shifting so that she was upright and now facing away from the door, but still locked in midair, unable to budge. Ezra was strutting towards her casually, one arm outstretched as he channeled the mystical energy that held her there.

"You're not the only one who can fight dirty" he laughed, enjoying the turnabout as he stopped just in front of her, looking up and seeing the smugness drain from her face as she realized what had happened.

"Ezra Bridger! Put me down this instant!" she shouted at him.

"If you say so…" he replied ominously, and as his hand dropped, so did she. Straight down.

Unprepared for the sudden return of gravity, Sabine's legs gave out and she fell forward, right into Ezra who had clearly not thought his cunning plan through completely. The pair tumbled to the ground, long forgotten paint applicator rolling away.

It was indeed a turnabout as they ended with Ezra on top, pinning the girl to the ground, his own face only inches away from hers in an echo of the scene that had just played out in the storage room.

Deep blue met gold as their eyes locked, sweat from their exertion beading around their foreheads in the muggy air of the jungle hanger.

If Sabine's heart had been racing before, it was stopped now. The hard stone of the floor making her back ache as Ezra's now considerable weight pressed down on her. She was acutely aware of how much he had grown, now that the muscular youth was straddling her with an indecipherable look on his face.

Neither spoke, as neither knew what words to say. While their second chase of the day had been nothing more than competitive fun, the result was the same uncomfortably pleasant position that had started it.

He was so close to her, again. All she had to do was lean up…

Sabine's arms, splayed out to her sides, slowly moved toward his, feeling the hard muscle under his shirt, her eyes never leaving his as she moved.

Ezra could feel her taught body under his, close enough to feel her heartbeat through their clothing, his own body once again reacting in the predictable way a teenage boy would being so close to an attractive woman. His arms holding him up, hands each on one side of her head, he slowly redistributed his weigh, allowing him to move one hand from the dirt ground to her forehead. Ezra gently brushed a lock of her dazzling hair out of her eyes, feeling a sharp intake of breath from the girl beneath him as his skin touched hers. He moved his head forward a fraction of an inch, desperately scanning her face for any sign of reluctance or discomfort, anything that might tell him he was going too far.

"Hey Ezra, Chopper told me you were…." another female voice echoed through the wide hanger from behind them, faltering as the source took stock of the scene in front of her.

Hera Syndulla stood just inside the door, staring at the two teenagers on the floor, only inches apart, panting heavily.

Ezra hadn't felt her presence approaching, too focused on the figure beneath him to pay attention to the tiny tugs at his mind the Force had been giving him. The color drained from his face as he recognized the voice and where it was coming from. In an instant he had shot to his feet, nearly tripping over Sabine and then himself as he rose awkwardly. Looking up at Hera, the blood that had so recently left his face in shock, returned with a vengeance as his cheeks turned bright red from embarrassment.

Sabine was more slow to rise, climbing to her knees and then her feet, making sure to keep an appropriate if obviously reluctant distance from Ezra, glaring daggers at Hera from interrupting what was just about to have become her moment.

"I'm sorry…" Hera began, seeing the looks the two were giving her, one of chagrin and another of annoyance.

"I was just looking for Ezra…if I was interrupting…something, I can come back…" Hera stated disjointedly, clearly regretting coming in at that moment.

"No, Ezra was just leaving" Sabine huffed.

As much as she wanted to rewind time and fulfill her desires, this time without Hera spoiling everything, she knew the moment was lost. Even if Hera left now, she knew Ezra would bumble around apologizing and making an ass of himself. The afternoon's events hadn't been a total loss in any case. She was as certain as she could be that Ezra's feelings for her were still there, ready to be brought back to the surface, as they almost had twice today. If this chance was lost, she would just have to manufacture another one. This time free from intrusions and distractions.

'Well…distractions other than myself' she thought with an inward wink.

"Are you sure, I can…" Hera continued, still noticing the tension between the teens.

"Yes, I'm sure. I have work to do, and I don't want him messing me up. Or distracting me" Sabine said, adding that last part with a pointed look at Ezra.

Hera looked right at Sabine and instantly knew everything she had been thinking.

"Sabine…" Ezra blurted, his mind still flooded with male hormones and not quite catching up to the conclusions that Hera and Sabine had arrived at without him.

"You heard her Ezra, let her work. You come with me."

"But..I..my ship.." Ezra blathered, still in shock over what had clearly been a turning point with Sabine, only to now have her shushing him out the door with Hera.

"Go Ezra. We'll continue our...discussion later. And don't forget, we still have our fight" Sabine said with a bright smile. Her lips were friendly enough, but her eyes held something more devious, and seductive.

Before he could respond to her words, or her look, Ezra was being dragged toward the door by the Twi'lek pilot, still casting confused and questioning looks back at Sabine as she stood, arms crossed, waiting for him to leave.

"What did you say you wanted again? Pink and orange?" Sabine asked. But the hanger door hissed shut in his face before he could even process the question.

* * *

"I really am sorry Ezra. For intruding. If I had know you were there with Sabine, I would have just commed you. I know that…" Hera said as they walked through the halls of the base, away from his ship and the girl of his dreams.

"Know what?" Ezra asked with an obstinate tone.

"I'm sorry, it's not really any of my business" Hera said apologetically, knowing the boy must still be coming down off an obviously emotional moment, despite not knowing exactly what had occurred.

"Where are we going anyways?" Ezra asked, not really wanting to talk about that particular topic any further.

"A mission briefing". Hera replied, giving him an even look, sensing his feelings not with the Force, but with woman's intuition, which in situations like these was arguably more accurate.

"We have a mission?" Ezra asked, startled by her answer. They hadn't been back from their last one for more than two days. Usually the crew had a little more time for repairs, gathering intel, or training, before heading back out into the fight.

"Not we. You." Hera responded cryptically.

"Wait, I'm going by myself?" Ezra asked, stopping in the hallway and nearly causing a group of technicians behind him to run into his back.

"He watch it kid!" one of them bristled, shoving past him along the path.

"Yes. And save your questions until we're someplace less public. We're almost there." Hera answered, her own tactician's mind always aware of her surroundings.

"Oh yeah, right" Ezra said, also taking note of the scattered groups of Rebels moving about the area. The two continued walking in silence for a few more moments before Hera spoke again.

"So…is everything alright? Between you and Sabine?" she tried to say casually, but not quite succeeding.

"Yeah we're..fine. I think" he answered.

"You think?" Hera asked.

"You sound like Kanan" Ezra said narrowing his eyes.

"Well I'll take that as a compliment" Hera laughed, smiling at him. "But don't change the subject. You think?"

"She's been acting kind of …weird" Ezra sighed, not really wanting to be discussing this, but feeling good to have someone to talk to, someone who wasn't a Jedi. Kanan was a great teacher, mentor, a good friend, and even like a father to him when he thought about it. But he had a tendency to link everything to the Force or a teaching, even more so now that he had been blinded. Sometimes it felt good to just talk to someone who wouldn't do that. Normally he would talk to Sabine…but that wasn't really an option right now.

"Weird in what way?" Hera prodded. The two were now standing outside the door to one of the secure conference rooms, the one in which the briefing would be held. But Hera pulled him aside to an out of the way corner.

Ezra put his hands in his pockets and started looking at the ground, trying to put his thoughts to words.

"Well you saw what happened after our last mission. How she reacted and blew up. And then today she's been all…weird".

"You said that already. I do need a little more to go by Ezra" Hera said gently with a slight smile. She knew exactly what he was talking about already of course. After her conversation with Sabine the previous night, she could guess what Sabine had been doing. But she didn't want to betray either Sabine's trust or push Ezra too far. This was their decision to make, not hers. And she wouldn't feel right if she pushed either of them into anything they weren't ready for on their own.

"Well you know her. She's always been so…closed off. Cocky. Impersonal" Ezra began. "But today she's been different. I think she…"

Hera choose not to say anything, only giving him a look that said he could continue and she wouldn't laugh or judge him for what he said.

"I think she…likes me" Ezra finished, looking up from the ground at Hera, trying to gauge her reaction, but being unable to read her emotions in her face any better than he could any other woman.

"Have you talked to her about it?" Hera asked. It would be so easy to just tell him that his suspicions were right. But she couldn't do that.

"No, we haven't really had a chance. Well, we have but it just hasn't come up. Kanan said I should talk to her too. But every time I'm around her I just kinda…lose myself. I think we were about to…you know".

"I saw that" Hera said, looking down for a brief moment herself. "I am sorry Ezra"

Hera put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "You'll get another chance. If you're sure about how you feel about her, tell her. Kanan is always telling you to trust your instincts. What are they telling you right now?" Hera asked, hoping he would give her the right answer.

Ezra closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in a long sigh

"That she does like me. Like that." he admitted, hoping that it were true and feeling like he had crossed some invisible line just admitting it out loud.

"Then trust in that Ezra. You've grown up to be a good man. Not just a good fighter or Jedi. A good man. She sees that too. Trust yourself and trust her."

Ezra nodded, his eyes still closed. Opening them, he looked at Hera and said "But she's leaving".

"Did she tell you that?" Hera asked

"No...not exactly. But I just know. She's going home to fight in her crazy civil war" Ezra responded with a sullen look.

"She might. And she might not. She has to choose what she wants to fight for right now. You can't choose for her Ezra" Hera admonished him gently.

"I know, that's not what I'm saying. Just that if she leaves, where does that leave us?" he asked pleadingly.

"It doesn't have to leave you anywhere. I thought you already discussed this with Kanan?"

"He told you?" Ezra asked, feeling betrayed.

"No, not exactly. What you two talk about while you're out doing Jedi stuff is your business, not mine. But we do talk about things. He may have brought up that you were worried about her leaving before. But I promise he didn't go into any details or tell me anything he thinks you want to keep private Ezra. Kanan wouldn't do that" she reassured him.

"I know" Ezra sighed.

"So what did Kanan tell you?" she asked.

"That we'll both know where the other is even if she leaves, and we can still see each other if it's meant to be"

"See? It doesn't have to be a problem if you don't let it be a problem." She said with a smile, seeing Ezra brighten slightly. "So are you going to tell her?"

Ezra waited a few seconds before answering. "Yeah, I think I am" he said more confidently.

"Good. You sound sure. Now let's get inside before we're late. You'll have time for that later today, I promise. This won't take long". And the two returned to the door, stepping inside together.

* * *

Sabine was at an impasse. Despite what she told Ezra, pink and orange would not be the motif of this masterpiece. While she liked ribbing him as much as the next guy, or girl in her case, she really did take this seriously and had no intention of giving him some gaudy monstrosity. She had already applied the base layers of color to the wings and fuselage, a bright metallic blue color she had found in the cabinet. Blue was Ezra's color. While he did wear orange frequently, when she thought of him she always thought of his eyes first. Deep sparkling blue that shimmered with whatever emotion he was feeling. His hair was a dark blue as well, almost black under the right light, and less obvious now that it was short, but the blue was still there.

She stood on a hover lift eyeing her progress so far. Jagged but symmetrical angles of metallic blue broke up the plain white along the wings, with thin lines of blue leading up to the front near the cockpit. It looked…fine as is. But not great. Good enough for just another ship, but not good enough for Ezra which meant not good enough for her either. She needed something more. Only she couldn't think of what.

"You look stuck" the familiar voice of Kanan Jarrus emanated from behind and below her.

She turned to see the tall man leaning against the very same crate her and Ezra had earlier that day.

"And how would you know?" Sabine asked slyly. She had been one of the few people to take Kanan's blindness in stride. After the initial shock, and the emotional turmoil the followed the events on Malachor, which she still new almost nothing about, Sabine had been quick to adapt to his new condition. Combat wounds were not an uncommon sight among her people, and ones earned honorably in battle were no shame. She knew Kanan's had been, and he had only increased in stature in her eyes.

Kanan had nearly vanished for weeks after they returned, but when he came out of the desert of Atollon, he had regained his pride and confidence. Afterwards, he had begun joking about his blindness, in what she knew was an attempt to make others comfortable with it. She'd known more than a few warriors with battle scars who had done the same thing. So she joined in. Over time, the two had become comfortable joking about it, even if others had not quite gotten there.

"I might be blind, but I can still sense when you're frustrated" Kanan laughed, stepping away from the crate and moving towards her as she descending in the hover platform.

"Well I'd ask what you think of my work so far…but you were never that good at art" Sabine joked, ignoring his obvious inability to see what she had painted.

"Everything ok?" Kanan asked, growing slightly more serious for a moment.

"Why? Have you been talking to Hera?" Sabine asked shrewdly.

"Always, but she hasn't said anything about you if that's what you're asking" Kanan answered.

"I'm fine, just not sure how to finish this." Sabine sighed, gesturing at the ship and taking a sip of water from a foil pack near the rest of her things.

"Well like you said, I've never been good with art. Fraid I can't help you there kid" Kanan answered. "But are you sure that's all that's bothering you?"

Kanan had turned to face her, his unseeing eyes behind his mask, but she was still sure that somehow he could read her as easily as ever.

Sabine sighed again, her breath causing a few loose strands of hair to waft away from her face.

"No, but nothing I really want to talk about. Not right now at least. I'm trying not to think about it while I work"

"I see" Kanan said sagely. "Ezra?"

"Who else" Sabine replied

"Well I won't prod you Sabine. But I'm here to talk if you need me. You know that."

"I know. Thanks Kanan." Sabine said, her face looking thankful though Kanan couldn't see that.

But he could still sense she meant it. While his vision was gone, many thing that had been previously invisible to him were now plain as day. Emotions, thoughts, energy, even objects. All made real in his mind by the Force. It's how he was still able to move and walk as if he could see, helped by the guiding hand of the Force. A hand that was telling him that this conservation wasn't quite over, despite what she had told him.

"Well, I'll leave you to it" Kanan said, trusting his own instincts to give him the right words, and feeling that those would be enough.

They were.

"Kanan…I.." Sabine started, seeing the man turn back around to face her.

Sabine had always been close to Kanan. Ever since he had been the one to find her, adrift and near death in a broken fighter, giving her the first of many second chances she never thought she really deserved. He and Hera had been the ones to rescue her after Ketsu had left her to die. And it had been the start of a bond between them words couldn't properly describe. Not quite a friend, not quite a father. Something in between, maybe a little of both. But since she had accepted their offer to join the crew, she had grown to rely on Kanan's wisdom when her own faltered.

"I have to go back. To my family. My other family" she said with a pained look. The Ghost had become her new family, and nothing could change that or replace them. But she owed a debt to her 'real' family, to help undo the damage she helped cause, to regain the honor of Clan Wren, and to fight beside her people when they needed her. And her vow to find the true wielder of the Darksaber was still unfulfilled.

"I can't stay here anymore. I owe them too much" she continued, but Kanan gave her a warm if slight smile.

"I know Sabine. I've been there. You can't keep pushing away the things you need to do, no matter how hard you try, and believe me, I've tried" Kanan said, walking back up to stand near her.

"And.." he started to say, but she cut him off.

"Don't say it".

"And I'm proud of you" Kanan continued, not letting her stop him like she had last time on Krownest.

Sabine growled but ended with a laugh, leaning next to Kanan and giving him a not-quite-hard elbow.

"I am. We all are" Kanan said. "And we'll still be here for you whenever you need us."

"...and..Ezra..?" Sabine asked quietly, the levity of the moment turning back to one of hesitancy.

"Ezra will do what he feels he must. I've done the best I can to train him to see what that is. But only he can take the steps. But he won't give up on you either. Whatever form that might take. But he's not going to leave you, not ever. Even if you're halfway across the galaxy, he's never going to leave you Sabine." Kanan said confidently, placing his hand on her shoulder and giving her a hint he knew what lie between her and his Padawan.

Sabine took a deep breath, feeling better about what must come. She knew she had to go home. And she knew she had to tell Ezra how she felt. She wasn't sure where both of those things would lead, but that wasn't her decision to make.

"Thank you Kanan. For everything. And you just gave me an idea!" she said with a grin, taking a few quick steps away, then turning, and rushing back to embrace Kanan in a firm hug. Then she was off again, grabbing her paint and heading back up the lift to finish her masterpiece.

* * *

A few hours later, Ezra and Hera exited the briefing room. Ezra's mind was still working over the details of the mission he had been given. It was simple enough. Go to Denon, meet with a possible new Imperial informant, receive a data disc and try to get a feel for the new recruit to see if he or she was genuine. Hera had told him that the Ghost was too recognizable to get close enough to an inner rim world like Denon, and that as a Jedi, Ezra was uniquely qualified to tell if the informant was real or an Imperial plant. Ezra had asked why Kanan or the others weren't going, but was told that Kanan's biometrics were almost certainly still on file with the Empire as a former Jedi, and he would be much more likely to be found out if scanned by one of the many surveillance systems the Empire planted on all of its worlds, inner planets in particular. There was a chance Ezra's were as well, but less so. Ezra also had his own ship, one that had not been involved in nearly as many notable battles, and with the recent paint job and transponder wipe, the Empire should pay no heed to it.

Cpt. Andor, one of the Rebellion's, well Ezra hadn't been told exactly what his role was, gave him comm codes for a Rebel cell operating on Denon in case he needed backup or extraction, but other than that, he was on his own. Ezra wasn't sure how he felt about that. It wouldn't be his first time operating behind enemy lines by himself, and he was far more skilled since the last time, but this mission was still quite the step up for him. All in all, it should be relatively easy and violence free. He wasn't being ordered to blow anything up or assault any Imperial bases. Just a clandestine meet and greet. But he still felt slightly uneasy about the prospect.

His head in the clouds, Ezra absent mindedly walked to his room on base, forgetting for a moment all about his ship and even Sabine. It was still mid to late afternoon on the jungle moon, and he wasn't leaving until the next day. As he wandered through the hallways, he kept repeating the details of his mission to himself, wondering if he was forgetting something. It had all been uploaded to his data pad, but that would need to be wiped before he left for security purposes, so he needed to have as much committed to memory as possible.

He rounded the corner into the hallway which his own room lay off of, looking up to see a welcome figure leaning against the wall next to his door.

"Took you long enough. I've been done for an hour" Sabine said with a grin upon seeing him.

Ezra felt a brief moment of elation seeing her as well, only to have it come crashing down a second later. He was leaving tomorrow. He didn't know how long his mission would take, or if he would even survive. Sure it was supposed to be easy, but you never could tell. And Sabine might be gone before he made it back to Yavin.

Ezra's smile vanished as soon as it came, causing Sabine to give him a strange look.

"What's wrong? You don't look very happy to see me" she said, standing up and crossing her arms in her trademark poker-face fashion.

"It's uh..nothing" Ezra said, not sure how he wanted to break the news to her. All of his moments with her since breakfast had been so pleasant, he didn't want to ruin it just yet.

"Right. Well you're clearly lying" Sabine replied, not accusingly, just in the matter of fact tone of someone who knew him too well and for too long.

Ezra forced a smile on his face and said "It's nothing, really. Just a lot on my mind. What were you saying?"

Sabine paused for a moment, giving him a look only a woman could pull off, but turned it off before it burned through his facade. She knew he wasn't telling her everything, but she wasn't going to nag him into telling her. She also didn't want to spoil the fun they had been having that day.

"I said" she began, stepping away from the wall "that I got done an hour ago"

"Got done with…?" Ezra asked stupidly.

'Ok, now I know something is up' she though to herself. If he had forgotten all about asking her to paint his ship already, clearly his mind was elsewhere.

"Your ship. It's done." she answered "Don't tell me you forgot Ezra. That's bad, even for you" she laughed.

"Oh! Yeah!" Ezra nearly shouted, his memories flooding back to him and pushing out his uncertainties about his mission and leaving Sabine here, and the possibility she would be gone when he returned.

Ezra grabbed her by the hand and had already started dragging her along towards the hanger bay when he felt her pull back on him.

"Not so fast Jedi. We still have unfinished business." Sabine said, planting her feet and not following him.

"Aw c'mon Bine" Ezra pleaded, still holding her hand and trying to drag her.

"Nope, you owe me a rematch and you already put it off once. I let you get away with it because you bribed me with a new project, but that's done now." she said, not relenting.

She decided to sweeten the deal by adding "And you never heard what the winner gets…"

Ezra stopped and gave her a calculating gaze. If her earlier behavior was any indication, he might be able to guess what she had in mind. This was worth playing out. The ship would be there after he defeated her.

"Fine, but after I beat you, we go to the hanger. If you messed it up on purpose, I'm officially declaring a prank war on you. And I'll get Zeb and Chopper to help" he threatened, not really meaning it. He didn't think she really would do that to him, but he enjoyed the banter anyways.

"After you beat me? I'm gonna make you eat those words Bridger" Sabine shot back with a laugh. "You said you know a place we can do this?"

"Yeah, Kanan and I found it yesterday" Ezra answered, once again taking her hand. This time she allowed herself to be led away, enjoying the contact. She strode up next to him, but didn't let go of his hand. And neither did he.

* * *

Half and hour later, the two parked another set of speeders in the same clearing Ezra and Kanan had trained in the previous evening.

"Not bad" Sabine said. "Out of the way. Wouldn't want the rest of the Rebellion to see one of their Jedi lose to a girl" she said with a wink.

Sabine had put her armor back on while she was waiting for Ezra to get done with whatever Hera wanted him for. Armed with both of her blasters, her vambraces, and the Darksaber, she was a formidable sight. While she had enjoyed teasing Ezra with the unhindered view of her body, this was business.

"Alright Master Jedi, you ready for this?"

"Hold on Mando girl, you said you wanted to train first. And who would I be if I didn't give you a chance to warm up?" Ezra said slyly, moving to the center of the clearing and unclipping his lightsaber.

"You can stall all you want but it's not going to change the outcome" she said sweetly, moving to stand next to him, the Darksaber in her hands.

The two began slowly moving through the various forms and stances, Ezra stopping to check out her form, among other things, every so often. He could see she had clearly been practicing while she was gone. Bladed combat was something she already knew much about, but fighting with lightsabers could be tricky. Her fight with Gar Saxon ended with her victory, but even the few flaws she displayed back then had been mostly worked through in her own time. While she would never be able to take advantage of all the strengths a lightsaber could offer paired with the Force, she had become a precise and skilled fighter in her own right.

"Good, you've been practicing" Ezra said with admiration as they stopped for a break and a drink.

"You sound nervous" Sabine joked, never one to pass up a chance at another jab to his ego.

"Can't even take a compliment without turning it back on me huh?" Ezra laughed back, returning to the middle of the clearing.

"We'll see who's complimenting who when this is over" she said with a wink, joining him.

"Yeah yeah, we'll get to that" Ezra replied. This was still training after all, and as much as he enjoyed their wordplay, he did still intend for this to be a productive evening.

"Alright, face me and we'll go through some blocks and attacks"

"Yes Master" Sabine said sarcastically, moving to face opposite him.

"I'll attack, you defend. Ready?" Ezra asked, ignoring her barb.

"Yep" she answered, raising her saber.

Sabine hadn't the time to learn all of the true forms of lightsaber combat. Ezra hadn't even been a Jedi long enough to do that. While Kanan had taught him the basics of Forms I, II, and his preferred III, Sabine's methods were a mishmash of each, with some traditional Mandalorian vibroblade tactics thrown in. But for this session, they would be sticking mostly to Form I, the basics that all Jedi younglings were taught, or so Kanan had told him.

Just as Kanan had done back on Atollon, Ezra started slowly.

"One" a low attack.

"Two" and another.

"Three" this time Ezra attacked from the high position, and Sabine's saber met his, energy crackling as they locked.

Slowly building speed, Ezra worked through each attack in the series, with Sabine blocking correctly.

"You're looking tired" Ezra teased after a while, "you think you're ready to go on the offensive"

"Ha! I'm just getting started" she shot back, feeling energized by the combat.

Sabine began working through the attacks, with Ezra quickly blocking. He wasn't yet drawing on the Force to aide his movements, but if she kept this up he would soon have to.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Let's change it up a bit" Ezra said after blocking her last swing.

"I was waiting for you to say that" Sabine replied smugly, moving back into the ready position.

"Pick your attacks and don't tell me what you're going to do. Ready?"

In response Sabine charged at him, blade arcing high over his head. She had been waiting all day for this, and she could finally let loose.

Ezra effortlessly moved his blade to intercept hers, then again to block the low strike she aimed at his legs. It was a testament to the faith the two had in each other that they could move so quickly with the lethal blades. Sabine had no intention of cutting him, trusting in his own abilities to tell him where to move.

"So where did Hera take you earlier?" Sabine asked breathily in between strikes.

"A briefing" Ezra answered, rolling at the last second while Sabine jumped at him, her blade striking the ground where his body had just been.

"Oh yeah? What kind?" she asked, circling him slowly, preparing for her next move.

"A mission" Ezra answered, lunging in with a wide but slow sweep at her midsection. Somewhere along the way this had turned into mutual combat, neither stating it, but both tacitly agreeing. Still, Ezra was holding back. He didn't want to kill her, just train.

"She never told me about any mission" Sabine stated brusquely as she stepped in to close the distance, blade angled down to block his.

A few quick steps later, Ezra had moved away shifting his own saber back to his Form III defensive position.

"It's just for me. They want me to go alone" he said eyeing her.

"And you didn't think to tell me?" She asked, a little shocked, briefly pausing the fight to look at him with an intense glare.

"I didn't exactly get a chance to" Ezra shot back, noting her offended tone and adding a little indignation of his own in his words.

"So no one is going with you?" She asked, lunging forward but feinting high as she brought her blade down to swipe at his own torso.

"That's what alone means" he said, blocking her and then shoving her back through the blade.

"Why didn't you ask me to come?" she growled, adrenaline fueling her words as she moved in for another attack.

"I said I didn't have a chance to" he said annoyed, readying himself for the defense. "And you wouldn't have said yes anyways."

"How the hell do you know that?" Sabine shouted, getting pissed off. Where had all this come from? Hadn't they been flirting pleasantly all day?

"I know. Just like I know you've been thinking about leaving us. Leaving me" Ezra said bitterly.

This was not the way he wanted to have this conversation. He hadn't planned on telling her about the mission, or asking about her impending departure until later that night. He wasn't exactly sure how he was going to do it, but it wasn't like this. But what's done is done. She asked, and he answered.

"You don't know anything Ezra!" she snapped. "If you would have asked me to come with you, I would have said yes!"

"Like you asked me to stay with you on Krownest" Ezra said, immediately regretting it. That had long been a source of heartache for him, and though he thought he had well and buried it, obviously his mind had other plans.

"What?" she said icily, her voice taking on a low and menacing tone.

"You heard me." Ezra responded. "And just like you haven't asked me to come with you when you go home again Sabine."

He began pacing around her, moving cautiously as his eyes remained locked on hers.

"Is that what this is about?" Sabine snarled, her own aggression now taking the lead. Who was he to ask her that? How dare he question her decisions about her family.

Sabine rushed forward, making three quick jabs in succession, Ezra nimbly blocking each but retreating while he did so.

With the last block, Ezra jumped up and over her, landing several meters away in a crouch blade up and ready.

"I felt you. When you almost left before. I saw you standing outside your room Sabine. You weren't even going to tell me"

He had her there. She wasn't going to tell him. It didn't seem to make much difference right now that she __hadn't__ actually left. But she forgot about his Force abilities. That night of inner turmoil must have set him off somehow and he had seen her standing there with her things, ready to walk off the ship and out of his life for who knew how long. He also didn't know that he was the reason she hadn't.

"Well I'm still here aren't I?" she spat. Ezra blurred forward until he was just a pace away from her, blade held high.

But he paused. "Yeah, for how long?"

She punched him. Square in the jaw. Her armored fingers connecting with his mouth as he tried to move, but too slowly. He wasn't focused on the fight, and he hadn't been paying attention to the what the Force was warning him about, only using it to fuel his motions.

Blood splattered across his face and shirt as he stumbled back.

He looked up at the girl who was glaring down at him fiercely. His words had struck a nerve as much in her as they had in himself. She had been brushing off his attempts at finding out if she was staying or not for weeks. He hadn't confronted her until now about what he saw the night she almost left. He had been out clearing his mind when he felt her awake inside the Ghost. She was the only one sleeping in the ship while on Yavin and her presence to his senses was obvious. He crept up the open ramp and peered down the long hallway, seeing her fully dressed and carrying all of her things in a bag, ready to leave. He left before she had a chance to see or hear him, running back to his room dejectedly. The next morning, she was still there. But the message was clear to him. She had made her decision and all her words about being unsure were just that, words.

Despite the wonderful morning they shared today, it was a wound that hadn't closed and neither had addressed.

Sabine raised the Darksaber above her head, ready to strike at him as she had with Kanan when she had first been trained.

Then the hilt shot out of her hand, energy blade vanishing as it left her.

And straight into Ezra's outstretched palm. He stood defiantly, with the hilt in his left hand, his own green saber humming in his right.

If he had expected an answer, it wasn't what happened next.

Sabine lunged at him, arms wrapping around him as she tackled him to the ground.

The two sabers soared out of his hands as he flailed, hard earth rushing up to meet him as the pair tumbled across the clearing.

It was the third time that day they had been in this position, but unlike the first two, there was no pent up sexual frustration or sultry teasing. Only a broken dam of anger, frustration, worry, regret, and fury.

Sabine ended up on top, swiping down with her right hand in another punch. But this time Ezra was ready for it. He blocked with his forearm, reaching up with a quick jab of his own striking her in the neck. Ezra wasn't one to hit girls, but Sabine was anything but just another girl, and the normal rules went out the window with her. It was all he could do to keep her from pummeling him into the ground. Ezra's own hand to hand skills had increased tremendously after months of training with Rex, but without the Force or a lightsaber, he wasn't really a match for someone who had been training for this sort of thing since she was a child. And of course, she was wearing armor. He wasn't.

Sabine's head lurched back at the impact, but it didn't seem to even faze her. She swatted his next strike away with ease, and leaned down pressing her forearm against his neck, choking out his words with a sputter.

Ezra could see the fury in her eyes. But there was something else behind them as well as she pressed down on his throat. With his right arm pinned, he reached up with his left, pushing at her face, but to no avail.

'Alright, if that's how it's gonna be' he thought determinedly, moving his left had down and placing it on her chest. A thought and brief effort of will later, Sabine shot off him, sailing backwards to land in the small stream that bisected the clearing.

Ezra staggered to his feet, looking up to see Sabine doing the same. His eyes locked with hers once again, trading glares from across the field.

Then she started laughing. Her fury drained from her face as she began chuckling, then laughing loudly. Collapsing to her knees in the inches deep water with splash, Sabine laughed until her sides felt like they would split. Ezra gaped at her, falling to his own knees in the dirt. Gasping for breath, blood still running from his cut lip, he looked at her incredulously.

Sabine's armor was muddy, her hair a mess of white and purple, with bits of brown and green from the mud and dirt. Her own head had a small cut, apparently from a rock she had landed on, her own blood trickling down her face. Soaking wet and cackling, Sabine rested in the shallow water, only deep breaths breaking up the sound of her laughter.

Ezra's breath returned, he stumbled over and fell down next to her in the stream, water splashing up and soaking them both.

Sabine's laughter died down as fatigue from the adrenaline crash made her woozy. She let her head droop forward on Ezra's lap with a sigh.

Now it was Ezra's turn to let out a chuckle as he reflected on the past 5 minutes. From friendly sparring, to vicious combat, to this. Absentmindedly he began picking grass out of her hair while she lay, eyes closed and the echos of a laugh turned into a smile on her face.

"Maybe next time we need to talk, we should just..talk?" Ezra asked as his fingers moved from removing grass to gently caressing just behind her ear

"Mmmhmm" Sabine sighed, not moving from her seemingly comfortable position, though by all rights it should have been.

After a long pause, he finally asked.

"Soooo….you wanna come with me on my mission tomorrow"

"Mmmmhmmmm" she said again, nestling her head even closer, and snaking one arm around him.

"Sabine?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm..sorry about what I said. I should have just told you."

"Shut up Ezra"

It was many more minutes before the pair got out of the water, retrieved their weapons, and walked hand in hand back to the speeders. Not everything that needed to be said had been, but they were a step closer. And they wouldn't be parting ways just yet.


	9. Chapter 9 - Preparations

A/N: First, thanks to everyone who has reviewed or messaged me. Your support has really made me want to keep writing this and it's awesome to get such positive feedback, especially for an amateur just starting out. I'm glad y'all are enjoying this so far. The last chapter was a little tough to write as I had several different plans on how to do it, including one where it was either the last or second to last chapter and would pretty much wrap everything up and end it right there. But I've decided to work out a few other ideas I've had and put them in this as well, so I'm not quite done yet. Anyways, back to the story.

* * *

It was well past dark when the tired, bruised, dirty, and bloody teens made it back to the rebel base. After a few angry looks from the night shift maintenance officer who didn't approve of having his speeders out so late, and with 2 punks by the look of them, Ezra and Sabine walked hand in hand back to the main area of the base.

"I'm hungry" Ezra groused, realizing that he and Sabine had both completely skipped dinner in the day's ruckus.

"You're always hungry" Sabine teased back.

Sabine let out a wide yawn as they slowed to a stop near the central chamber of the still bustling base. Operations were 24 galactic standard hours a day on Yavin 4, and while night activity was a little more subdued, there was still plenty of personnel moving around them. Groups of heavily armed troopers marched through the area, apparently for shift change on the outer perimeter. Several pairs of X-wing fighters were lifting off from the main hanger, their 4 bright drive cones apiece fading into the darkness as they rose above the moon to take over interceptor duty.

"You tired?" Ezra asked, noticing the yawn.

"No, not really. Just hungry and sore"

"Hey! You were just making fun of me for being hungry" Ezra said with a mix between annoyance and laughter. He wasn't really offended, but the game never stopped between these two.

"Yeah, well I can make fun of you for anything I want" she smiled sweetly at him.

"Wanna grab something at the mess hall with me? Ezra asked, not really wanting the interesting day to end so soon. "Then you can take me to see your latest work of art" he said, remembering their deal to see the ship after their lightsaber training/fight/all out brawl.

"Ugh like this? I'm covered with mud and we're both still bleeding. And you're soaking wet. At least my armor is waterproof."

"Well how about we shower and then I bring us something back to the ghost?"

Sabine froze, hearing the words, a tiny gasp of air making it past her lips before she could stop herself. Surely he didn't mean shower, like together..did he?

Ezra, seeing he look and knowing what it meant, but for the wrong reasons, quickly corrected himself.

"I mean you go back to the Ghost and shower and I go to my room. Then I'll bring us some food and we can talk about _our_ mission"

"Yeah..right..um sounds good" Sabine mumbled. She sounded like Ezra. Groaning inwardly at her own words, she reluctantly let go of his hand.

"Well, see you in a bit?"

"You got it Wren" Ezra replied, starting to walk away.

"And don't go near that hanger! I mean it Ezra! I want it to be a surprise!" she shouted back as he passed through the door.

Sabine stumbled up the ramp to the empty ship, making her way towards her quarters. Opening the door, she stepped in and tossed her helmet on the upper bunk, hitting the lights along the way.

She stood in front of the mirror, cringing at what she saw. Dried mud covered most of her armor, her hair hung limp and wet from her head, stringy and dirty. A long but shallow gash ran from the top of her forehead, across her temple, to above her right ear. It had begun to scab over but parts still trickled faint amounts of blood, which had run down her cheek down to her neckline.

"Kriff I look like hell" she mused. "That boy can fight pretty well, for a Jedi"

She slowly began uncoupling the armor plating from her body suit, setting it gingerly on the pedestal. She would clean it..sometime. Right now she had other things to attend to.

She activated the release for her body suit and began stripping it off her lean body. Angry purple and brown bruises of various sizes marred her normally immaculate skin, adding in to the already colorful designs from her tattoo.

Wearing only her compression shorts and sports bra, she walked to the refresher and started the shower. Hera was lucky, or smart, enough to have both the sonic and water types aboard her ship. After disrobing entirely, she stepped in and let the hot water course along her body, leaving brown streaks as the mud drained away.

She took her time, prodding the cut on her head and cleaning out the dried blood. She would have to deal with that next. It probably wouldn't scar being so shallow, but she preferred not to take chances. If she was going to earn battle scars, she wanted them to be real, not the result of training.

After cleaning herself thoroughly, she stood in the hot water, her mind drifting back to Ezra and what had happened earlier.

She had had a number of close calls with him that day. Moments where she had almost taken things to the next level. But either she or someone else had gotten in the way of her plans each time. First her own silly game, then Hera, then Ezra and their second argument in 2 days. But he was coming back tonight, she thought.

As her mind wandered, she thought of how he felt while she was pinned to the ground, how his hand felt in hers while they walked, the near kisses they shared, his "reaction" to her teasing. Thoughts which naturally caused a reaction of her own, as her own body stirred to the images.

'I've got the time' she reasoned with herself, knowing Ezra had a longer way to walk and was stopping at the mess hall. 'This shouldn't take too long, as worked up as I am already….' and she began to deal with her own situation as only a single girl in a warm steamy shower can.

* * *

Ezra stood in his still single-occupancy room, drying himself off after his own shower. Not really one to spend much time on mirrors or grooming, he sifted through his haphazardly packed dresser, fishing out clean clothes. Dark brown cargo pants and a black t-shirt. His favorite orange shirt/vest was still soaking wet and muddy. He tossed the dirty clothes in a bin and sent a message to the laundry droids on his wrist terminal, notifying them for a pickup. Deciding to leave his blaster behind, he clipped his lightsaber to his belt and started for the door. He would never leave that behind, Kanan had been strict about that particular item.

As he made his way through the hallways toward the mess hall, the hulking and grey haired figure of Rex stood out among the dozens of others heading the same way.

"Ezra! What happened to your mouth?" the veteran Clone asked, noting the gash along his lip and chin.

"Hey Rex. Oh that, umm just a little training accident"

"A training accident huh? I've seen enough right crosses in my time to know one when I see it. Who hit you?" Rex asked shrewdly, deducing what had happened, but not the culprit.

"It's nothing" Ezra said with a nervous grin, not wanting to stand here in a crowded hallway and tell the soldier that Sabine had near knocked his teeth out.

"Really, just some hand to hand training. I gave as good as I got"

"Right" Rex replied, not buying it but letting it pass nonetheless. He'd been around soldiers his entire life. Literally. The tank he was formed in was just one among thousands, stacked in neat rows on his 'homeworld' of Kamino. Soldiers fight, and if there's no harm, no foul.

"Well the boys and I were just getting some grub, care to join us" Rex asked, gesturing at the group of Rebel ground soldiers who were in line for a late dinner after their shift.

"Love to, but I can't. Got a lot to do. Big mission for me tomorrow" Ezra said, trying to rush past.

"Ah right, I thought Hera mentioned something about that. You got everything you need?"

"I think so. If not I'll check with you or AP-5 tomorrow" Ezra answered, not wanting to keep Sabine waiting.

"Better make it me. That droid has a few faulty circuits if you ask me." Rex said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Check with me before you leave and I'll make sure you're squared away"

"Roger roger" Ezra said with his usual goofy grin.

"Don't say that" Rex growled back, but with a grin of his own. And the boy was off, grabbing trays and food in a hurry before darting back out of the room.

* * *

Sabine stood naked in her room, pulling clean clothes of her own out of her bag. She hadn't unpacked much and was still living out of her pack. Her hair now bright and clean, skin shimmering as the cool air from the environmental control unit dried the last bit of water, she heard her door chime.

Ezra. He was here already.

Her hand slowly moved to the door control as a fiendish thought entered her mind.

'I could just open it…I know he wouldn't mind'

The door chimed again as she stood there, actually having to decide if she wanted to do it. She had it bad.

But in a way Ezra would unfortunately never know, prudence won out over daring and her finger tapped the comm panel instead.

"Just a minute" she said, almost regretting not just doing it and seeing what happened.

'Well I can still give him a bit of a show…' she though as she slid on another skin tight and almost obscenely short pair of compression shorts. Normally only worn under her armor or something else, she decided to leave it at that.

'Now for the top' she thought, looking at herself in the mirror and liking what she saw, bruises aside. But her tattoo. No one even know about much less had ever seen it before. She wasn't sure if now was the time for that. For her, art carried a wide array of meanings. Some meant to be seen from the rooftops, but others, like this, were deeply personal. While her tattoos changed over time, and weren't always something she wore, each held a special meaning. Something she didn't just share with anyone. She was certain she would be sharing it with Ezra, someday. But not just yet.

She pulled another tight black t-shirt with half-sleeves over her head, covering her torso and the tattoo completely. Stopping to look in the mirror she noticed that the after effects her earlier aroused state hadn't quite subsided, particularly in the chest area.

'Oh well, he'll have to get used to it' she thought with a wicked smile as she finally tapped the control to open the door.

A flustered and over encumbered Padawan stood outside the door, taking the sight in for all it was worth.

"Umm hey Sabine…did you have a good, ya know…ummm shower?" he blustered, not failing to notice every detail she had meant for him to notice.

"I did, and you?" She asked, pretending like absolutely nothing was amiss or different.

"Great!" he answered, his eyes still wandering over her body in a lazy pattern, taking it all in. His eyes stopped when they got to her face however.

"Kriff Sabine, have you seen your face?" He asked

"Smooth Ezra. Have you seen yours?" she retorted, stiffing a giggle.

"No, why? Is it really that bad?" he asked chagrinned, still standing in the doorway with containers of food in his arms.

"Nothing a little bacta can't fix. C'mon, lets eat then we can patch each other up." Sabine said as she slid past him and walked towards the common room.

His eyes lingered on her as he watched her walk away, unable to move or take his gaze from the sight.

'Did she do that on purpose?' He wondered as she disappeared behind the corner.

"Are you coming?" Her voice chimed from the other room, noticing that he hadn't followed.

"Yeah, I'll be right there" he tried to recover as he shifted the containers around in his hands and finally joined her.

Soon after the two were laughing and eating together, once again sitting next to each other instead of across, their legs touching.

"So tell me about this mission you need my help with" Sabine told him playfully.

"Need your help? Pretty sure I won today Wren. If anyone needs help it's you."

"Whatever, as far as I'm concerned, it's not over _di'kut_ "

"A draw then?" he asked, pulling a puffcake out of the last container and offering it to her temptingly.

She gave him a calculating stare and finally said "for now", taking the dessert from him, breaking it in half and giving him a piece.

When they were sated, Sabine got up and retrieved a first aid kit from a cabinet on the other side of the room, giving Ezra another interesting view as she leaned up on her tippy toes to get it. She could have asked him to get it of course, but she hated asking anyone to do anything she could do herself, and she could feel his eyes on her, which caused that warm sensation she thought she dealt with in the shower to return.

As she leaned up Ezra couldn't help but notice a brief flash or iridescent purple long her back as he shirt rode up slightly. But before he could be sure, it was gone. She had already come back down and was coming over with the kit, setting it on the table.

"You first. That lip looks terrible" she said, grabbing a small bacta patch.

"What can I say, you know how to throw a punch" he joked, but causing her to wince.

"Sorry…that got a little out of hand" she said in apology.

"It's ok Sabine, we both handled it pretty well….and it was a little fun" he said with another goofy grin.

She looked at him seriously, then broke into a smile. "Yeah, it kinda was"

"Here, face me. It'll be easier" she told him, turning her own body sideways on the bench. After he had done the same, she picked up her legs and drooped them over his, sliding forward so her own thighs were on top of his.

The fact that her legs were now spread open and her shorts were _much_ shorter than she realized in that position only occurred to her after she made her move. Honestly, she hadn't intended that part. But the breeze did feel nice.

Her own face turning a slight shade of pink, she grabbed his chin and kept his head steady and pointed firmly at her and not down, while she applied the thing bacta coated strip to the gash.

"There, give it a few hours and it should be almost as good as new" she said, satisfied in her work. "Now me"

Ezra got another patch out and reached up to her head, gently turning her face away from him as he lightly brushed her hair aside. He slowly applied the patch, making sure there were no bubbled or uncovered spots. It wasn't a bad cut all things considered. She probably didn't need anything for it, but she had insisted, and he enjoyed the closeness.

When he was done, his hand lingered for a second longer than needed as he looked into her eyes. But he unwittingly ruined the moment by letting his eyes start to drift downwards..

Sabine moved away from him quickly, shutting her legs and sitting normally on the bench once again.

"So tell me about this mission" she said matter of factly, stemming her lascivious thoughts and getting down to business.

Ezra pulled his datapad out of his satchel and tossed in on the table in her direction.

"Just a meet and greet with a possible sympathizer. We head out to Denon tomorrow morning."

"Denon?" Sabine asked with a quick look.

"Yup, why you been there?" Ezra asked.

"Yeah, a long time ago" she said wistfully, thinking back to one of her jobs with Ketsu.

"Well that's good. I haven't. You might not be so useless after all" he said with a wink.

"Oh ya think? Glad I have your approval. That means sooo much to me" she said sarcastically, giving him a light shove as she picked up the pad.

"It says here we're meeting this person at a sub-level dance club. No word on who it is?" she said, scanning the text.

"Nope, just that I'm supposed to sit in the back and wait for a droid to take my order, and give it a code phrase." He explained.

"Know where I can find transport to Corellia?" Sabine interjected, reading the code phrase from the pad. "Not exactly original."

"Well at least it's not 'know of any Rebel sympathizers?'" Ezra joked.

"I guess" she continued, still reading quickly.

"So I guess our contact has the droid programmed to let him know it's you. You're supposed to get some data chip and feel him out? See if he's lying?"

"Pretty much. There's not supposed to be any fighting, and they said in the briefing that the Imps don't like to go down to the sub-levels that much."

"Yeah but there's a reason for that Ezra. Those places aren't exactly safe. Last time I was there, everything beneath the basic housing blocks is controlled by one crime syndicate or another. Smugglers, slavers, bounty hunters, arms dealers, you name it. If it's illegal, they've got it."

"Well I guess it's a good thing I've got my own badass bounty hunter coming with me" Ezra said with one of his dazzling grins that made her heart leap.

"I thought I was useless" She said with her own sarcastic smile. But quickly turned serious. "I don't suppose it's occurred to you that we both have some pretty big prices on our heads. With all of those bounty hunters, if we're spotted and on our own, they might decide the payout is worth the risk"

"Maybe. But I like our chances. Besides, what are the odds we'll be noticed in the Inner Rim? We've never gone that far in before, it's not like anyone will be looking for us" Ezra said confidently.

"True. But you'll have to hide your lightsaber like Kanan does. And I'll have to disguise my armor somehow. I used to know quite a few of those bounty hunters, and there aren't many Mandalorians who go in for that sort of work these days." Sabine mused, already putting together plans of her own.

"That reminds me. Does anyone else even know I'm coming?"

"Not yet, but it's not like they can stop you"

"Also true" Sabine said with a smirk. "But still, you should at least tell Hera. If I'm suddenly gone tomorrow, that could cause problems"

Ezra thought briefly about how her suddenly being gone didn't seem to be that much of a concern for her a few weeks ago, but decided not to bring it up. They had already worked through that issue the hard way, and he was enjoying their impromptu mission briefing too much to spoil things.

"Yeah, good idea" Ezra said, bringing up is communicator"

"Hera, it's Ezra."

"This is Hera, everything alright?" a female voice radiated from the small device.

"Yeah, I was just thinking. That thing you wanted me to do tomorrow. Is it cool if I bring some company?"

"Sabine?" Hera asked, already knowing the answer.

"Uhh yeah, she kind of insisted" Ezra replied, drawing a look from Sabine.

"That shouldn't be a problem. We originally were going to send both of you, but we weren't sure if she was still going to be around."

"Great! We'll leave when you said" Ezra responded, trying to stay cryptic on the radio.

"Sabine, don't let him get up to his usual tricks" Hera said, knowing that she must have been in the room.

"You know me, I'll keep him on a short leash" Sabine said, leaning over to speak into the communicator.

"Hey!" Ezra began to protest, but the channel was already closed.

Ezra took the pad and began reading intently, still working to memorize every last detail of the mission. He was still trying to prove himself, and he knew a success could be a big step for him, and failure and equally big setback.

After 15 or so minutes, he felt a yawn come on, and looked over to Sabine, who had been silent for much of the time since he talked to Hera. He saw that she had laid down on the bench, and was now fast asleep. His eyes lingered on her for a good while, just enjoying the way she looked while she slept. Her chest rose and fell slightly as she breathed, clearly fatigued and well into a dream as he saw her eyes twitch and an unconscious smile play across her lips.

'It must be a good dream.' He thought as he watched her. Her shirt had ridden up slightly again and he could now see the lines of well hidden tattoos tracing across her waist and abdomen. He never knew she had any, but he thought it was somehow fitting for her, and he wished he could see the rest, as it was clearly just part of a larger piece. But she hadn't chosen to tell him, or anyone else, about them and he knew her well enough by now that when she kept something secret, it was to stay a secret until she decided otherwise. He wouldn't be bringing them up or asking her about them anytime soon.

Ezra rose slowly, making sure not to wake the slumbering girl, and quietly cleaned up the remains of their meal. He then tiptoed to her room and retrieved a blanket from her bed, noting the dirty armor, paintings, sketches, weapons, bomb-making tools, gadgets and other things scattered about her room. Like bits of a puzzle that made up the life and personality of Sabine Wren, he took it all in. He could get used to having this girl in his life. He had already done so in many ways over the years, but at this moment he began to come to a more concrete conclusion about a matter that had been bothering him for some time now.

He really could see himself as part of her life, and she part of his. And if the way she had been acting recently was any indication, she may just finally be feeling the same. He was still too reluctant to give in fully to hope, after having been denied so many times, but he finally felt like he was getting his chance. With a smile on his face, he left the room and closed the door.

Returning to the common room, and after reducing the cabin lights to 5% illumination, he laid the blanket lightly over her, noticing the goosebumps that had already formed on her delicate skin from the chilled air. Covering himself with a bit of the corner, but leaving the lion's share of the blanket for her, he sat next to her on the bench, taking her had in his. His own weariness had crept up on him as he had been reading, so it wasn't long before his own eyes were closed, lost in a pleasant dream of his own. Neither would know how similar those dreams were, or how close to reality they would come.

* * *

Sabine stretched as her eyes slowly opened. The nearly dark room taking vague shape in her eyes as they began to focus. She wasn't in her room. What had happened..? She felt the familiar warmth of her blanket over her as memories from the previous night came back to her, erasing the fragments of the wonderful dream she had been having. She was still in the common room on the Ghost, laying down on the rear bench, her legs propped up on something delightfully warm. She looked down and saw the sitting shape of Ezra, still wearing the clothes he had been in last night, head dropped to the side, a tiny amount of drool drying on his chin. She giggled to herself at the sight, but was filled with appreciation that he had stayed with her all night, not even waking her to make himself more comfortable. She slowly removed her legs, pulling the blanket with them as and causing him to stir slightly, but not wake.

A sudden thought overtook her as she eyed the peacefully sleeping boy, only an arm's length away. Sabine crept slowly forward, moving in until her face was only inches from his. His deep breathing still uninterrupted. She leaned forward, her lips just barely grazing his skin as she placed a tiny kiss on his cheek. He stirred again, this time smiling, but still seemingly unawake.

She checked the datapad on the table, noting the time was 0718 local time. She decided to let him sleep a little more as she had been the first to fall asleep the previous night. Not too much longer, they still had things to do however. Walking quietly over to the wall panel, she programed the lights to increase brightness to 100% over the next 15 minutes, hopefully enough that he would wake on his own. She decided to skip her usual morning workout, thinking it best to give her bruises and muscles a day off. With her wakeup call set, she made her way to her room and began getting her things ready for the day, starting with finally cleaning her armor.

Sometime later, Ezra felt the sensation of dawn through his eyes as he still sat, not quite sleeping but not quite awake. He remembered where he was, and that he had turned the light out last night, so when he opened his eyes to find them almost at full, he knew Sabine was awake even before noting she was no longer next to him.

He stood reluctantly, muscles still sore from the fight yesterday afternoon, stretching and taking stock of his present situation. It was mission day, time 0731. He could hear the sound of movement coming from the accommodations hallway, correctly guessing Sabine was hard at work at something or other. Padding quietly to the small kitchenet alcove of the ship, he set two packs of pre-made and sealed caf to warming. There was better stuff in the cafeteria, but he didn't really feel like walking that far right now.

"Morning" Sabine heard from her doorway, looking up to see Ezra standing with two steaming mugs in his hand.

"Morning to you too" she replied, standing and stretching.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing to her room

"If one of those is for me, sure" she said

"Nah, I'm just really tired, but I think there's some left if you want to go make some yourself" he chided, but handed her one of the cups. "Wait, that's not all" he continued, pulling a dermal medication applicator from a pocket.

"Painkiller. If you feel half as sore as I do, you'll need it" he said, handing it over as well.

"You're a lifesaver" she said, tapping the device to her forearm and hearing the hiss as it disbursed a microscopic mist of medication through her pores.

"Thanks Ezra" she said, looking up at him him.

"No problem, it was in the med kit. I figured we both needed it"

"Not for that. Well not only for that. I mean for staying last night. You didn't need to."

"Yeah, but I wanted to. And you looked too cute laying there" he said, flashing her another grin.

The fact that she not only didn't give him a sarcastic rebuttal, but seemed to genuinely appreciate the compliment only added to his mounting certainty that her feelings for him had grown exactly along the lines he'd been hoping for years.

"You're not too hard on the eyes yourself" she replied, returning the compliment and causing his smile to widen.

"So what's the plan for the day?" he asked her, noting her work on her armor.

"Well I've got about an hour left for this. Then I'm all yours. Breakfast later?" she said happily.

"Sure, I'm gonna go up top and meditate for a while. Come find me when you're done? We can swing by Rex's after we eat"

"Rex?"

"You know, tall, old, grey hair, Clone trooper and all-around ass kicker"

"Ha ha. I think I've met him. I mean what do we have to see him for?"

"He said something about giving me, and now us I guess, some extra equipment for the mission. After that we can check in with Hera and the rest of command, then you can finally show me my beautiful new ship" he finished.

"Sounds good to me" She said brightly, enjoying these little moments together. She could also get used to this. "Thanks again Ezra"

"My pleasure my lady" he replied with another bow, then left the room.

* * *

Roughly two hours later, the pair exited the dining facility and began walking to Ezra's room so he could get his blaster and the rest of his gear. They had sat together once again, side by side, drawing a few knowing glances from the more familiar faces in the room. Zeb and Kallus had made another loud entrance, and seemed to be starting over to give the two another ribbing, but a quiet word from Hera stopped them in their tracks. Hera had looked over at them with a smile and led the Lasat and former Imperial to her table with Kanan.

After stopping at his room, they then made their way to the supply depot and arms room, knowing Rex would be there. The Clone seemed to genuinely enjoy spending his free time calibrating weapons, training new recruits, and getting his hands dirty with the nuts and bolts of the Rebellion. Despite having been a fairly high ranking officer in the Grand Army of the Republic, you didn't often find him huddled over holo-charts and plans in the command center. More often than not, he had a blaster in his hand and was hard at work fighting, or teaching others to do so.

'Must be his Mandalorian DNA' Sabine mused as they passed through the heavy reinforced durasteel gate that secured the outer foyer to the arms room.

"Morning Rex" Ezra said, stepping up to the counter.

"Morning yourself Ezra. That cut is healing up nicely" the Clone replied, turning around to face the teens. He noted the similar faint pink line of a healed gash on Sabine, and put two and two together.

"Ah, your opponent I take it?"

Ezra blushed and stammered but Sabine cut him off.

"We were just showing each other a few moves and it got a little out of hand" she covered for him.

"I see. Well if you're training with a Mandalorian, you gotta expect that kind of thing" Rex said knowingly.

Rex reached behind the counter and pulled out a few small crates.

"Hera told me a bit about your mission and where you're going. Nothing to compromise OPSEC, but enough. Things could get dicey"

"Nothing we can't handle" Ezra said with braggadocio.

"We?" Rex replied, giving Sabine a calculating look. "She's going with you huh? Good. It's never a bad thing to have backup out there. And she can take care of herself, and you"

"I put together a few things I think can help you, if you need them" he said, opening the two crates, then retreating inside the arms room to grab two more.

"Since there's two of you now, I'll give you both the same thing. Though I imagine Ms. Wren doesn't really need the help"

Sabine for her part didn't mind one bit. Taking note of the gear in the small cases, she smiled with delight. She never passed up the change to acquire new weapons.

"The Model J1 holdout blaster. Only good for about six shots, but fits in your palm and is nearly invisible." Rex began, showing off the strange shaped weapon.

"Next, paralysis grenades. I know you're more fond of the ones that explode Sabine, but where you're going it's best not to draw that kind of attention. These will knock out a group for a few minutes. Long enough to be somewhere else" he said, picking up one of the small spherical grenades.

"This" he began, holding up a small thumb sized device that looked like a communicator with antennas "is a short range comm jammer. Blocks all incoming and outgoing communications in a range of about 25 meters. Also scrambles recording devices. You can program it to allow your own frequencies to get through, but it will stop anything else. Keep in mind, these are pretty common on the black market, so others may have them as well, and you won't be on their allow-list" he said with warning.

"And last, a short range comm earpiece. Connects with your communicator so you don't have to have it in your hand when you talk. It fits in your ear and blends in with your skin so no one can tell you're wearing it unless they look for it."

"Wow, this stuff is pretty cool. Why haven't we seen this before?" Ezra asked picking up one of the small blasters and seeing how it felt in his hand.

"Some of it's hard to come by. Our new friend Kallus had a pretty extensive list of dealers and smugglers that we didn't know about. I guess people he had arrested at one point or another. He was nice enough to give us their information and another cell was out making buys all week" Rex explained.

"Thanks a lot Rex!" Ezra said appreciatively, stuffing the items into his satchel.

"Oh and I took the liberty dropping off a few heavier things in the hanger for your ship. Kanan told me that that fighter is yours now. You should be well stocked for anything you might run into."

"You're the best Rex!" Ezra answered, making his way to the door.

"Not a problem kid, stay safe out there. And Sabine, keep him out of trouble" Rex replied

"I'll do my best" she answered, following Ezra out the door, her own new toys under her arm.

* * *

They soon found themselves nearing the door to the hanger that contained Ezra's ship, and found Hera and Kanan waiting for them.

"Hey kid, you all set?" Kanan asked, strolling up to meet them. Sabine broke away from the two Jedi and walked over to speak quietly with Hera.

"Yeah, I am" Ezra said assuredly, knowing that Kanan wouldn't appreciate reluctance, but actually feeling sure.

"Good, I'm glad you agreed to this. You look ready" Kanan replied, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I wanted to ask you…" Ezra began. "Why aren't you going? They said they needed a Jedi, and you're the best we have."

"Because I told them you could handle it. You remember what I told you on Atollon?" the blind Jedi asked. "I meant every word. The Rebellion wouldn't be here if not for you. You've grown up a lot Ezra. I've tried teaching you everything I know, and I'd like to think I did a pretty good job all things considered. Just remember, trust in the Force. It's brought you this far, don't give up on it now.

"I won't Master" Ezra said sternly and meeting his eyes. Kanan was right. The times he had forgotten his training tended to go worse than the times he didn't. And he had Sabine with him now too. He couldn't let anything happen to her, not ever. He had come to another conclusion regarding that too, but now wasn't the time to bring it up with anyone. As Kanan had taught him, he needed to keep his mind on where he was, what he was doing.

"Good" Kanan said, believing him and sensing Ezra's focus. "Hera told me Sabine is going with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, when she found out I had a mission, she kind of made me let her come."

"I've been there. She would have just stowed away on your ship if you hadn't" he said, remembering when she had done just that to him. And how that mission had only succeeded because she had.

"This feels right" Kanan continued after pausing a moment. "I had reservations about this whole thing. Not because of you or your abilities" he clarified, "just general uneasiness. But when Hera told me she was coming with you, it cleared up. You two make a great team, more than you know."

"I think so too. I just hope she sees that" Ezra said, voicing the last bit of doubt that still lingered, despite all of the recent developments.

"She does. I know she does." Kanan said calmly, his voice giving Ezra strength and confidence. "Well, I won't keep you much longer. You've got a lot to do. I'll see you in a few days" he finished. "And may the Force be with you".

"Thank you Master" Ezra answered, and met Sabine at the door. Together, they stepped through and Ezra finally laid eyes on what she had done.

Ezra stood for several seconds after the door had closed behind them, mouth open slightly, gawking at the sight.

Sabine stood next to him, looking at him intently. First she was excited, then hesitant, then grew nervous as he had yet to say anything.

"Ezra…" she asked timidly, hoping that he didn't hate it.

"It's..beautiful" he finally stammered, mouth still open, unable to take his eyes from the ship.

The white was broken up by angles and swaths of deep blue, which he didn't notice matched his own eyes almost perfectly, seeming to be randomly placed on their own, but taken as a whole presented an intricate pattern which both took away from and added to the sleek shape of the craft. But on each wing was a golden bird of her own design, the color which he did notice matched her own eyes. A little something of both of them in the ship now, together forever no matter what happened.

Sabine let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Seeking the approval of others for her art wasn't something she was used to. While she liked compliments as much as the next person, she did her own thing and damn anyone who didn't like it. But she realized she never wanted someone to appreciate what she had done more than Ezra right now. And he did.

She wanted to jump into his arms and give him another big hug, and maybe more, but seeing him still focused on the ship caused her to hold back. She simply took his hand in hers and began leading him towards the ramp.

It took several tries to get him to actually come aboard, so intent was he on walking around the ship, marveling in the detail and precision of her work. But after a while he reluctantly followed her up the ramp, almost sad that he masterpiece was no longer in view.

"Sabine..I don't know what to say..it's perfect" he finally said, settling into the pilot's seat.

"It had to be, for you" she said warmly, giving him a long and loving look. They were almost there, she knew it. By the time they got back, he would be hers.

"Now _Captain,_ shall we?" she asked, sitting in her own seat and beginning the pre-flight sequence.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked her, putting the final part of his plan into place. "It needs a new name. I can't think of anyone better to choose than you"

It was Sabine's turn to let her mouth open slightly. She figured he would let her paint it, he didn't know anyone else who could. It had surprised and delighted her when he not only let her do it, but had asked her to. But naming it? A ship's name was important. It said something about both the ship and the captain who flew it. It was customary for a new captain to pick his or her own new name for a ship.

"Umm are you sure?" she asked meekly, but saw nothing but assurance in his eyes.

"More than ever" he answered.

Slowly she reached out and tapped the comm panel, opening a channel to the flight controller.

"Yavin Base this is… _Starbird_ requesting clearance for departure" she said finally, her eyes still on his, looking for any sign of displeasure but seeing only an even wider smile.

"Starbird, Yavin Base. You are clear for liftoff"

With a nod of approval, Ezra took the controls and the elegant ship began to rise, it's vertical wings sliding horizontal as it cleared the hanger bay's open roof.

And with that, they were off on their next adventure, the blue glow of the drive vanishing into the sky.

* * *

A/N: A little reference to my other work, Drinking Games, mainly because I like the idea of city-planets. The events of that story are not part of this one obviously, but you can assume the bit about Sabine's backstory is if you've read it. And as others have correctly guess, I think the name Starbird for the Ezra's ship is fitting. It's been used in other stories, but I like it, and it wouldn't shock me if it became canon.


	10. Chapter 10 - Arrival

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

A/N: And we're back! First I want to apologize to all of my readers for the extra-long gap in updates. It's been like several months. I'm sorry it took so long. I hadn't abandoned the story, I just had a lot going on for a long while. I was away doing Army stuff for some of it and didn't even have reliable internet access, then working, and to be honest amidst all of that I kind of lost my inspiration for a while. I still wanted to write but I just wasn't feeling it. By the time I really started to get into it again, the Season 04 premier was only a week or two away. So I decided to wait it out to see where the show picks up, and I did another rewatch of the first 3 seasons to prepare. I'm happy to say that it looks like the show is heading in the direction that I want. From the trailers, previews, and interviews with the writing staff, it looks like this final season is going to have a lot of Sabine/Ezra moments. Will they end up together? Who knows. But they do in my head :) and that's all that matters to me. And now that the premier is out, I think I will be ending this story in a way that makes it a plausible event that could take place before the first episode. Obviously in my world Ezra and Sabine are romantically involved, and in the show they're not (for now), but as far as the basic plot elements go, you can picture this taking place between Season 3 and 4 and it should mostly fit. Anyways, with no further delay, on to the story!

* * *

Ezra sat cross-legged in the pilot's chair of the _Starbird_ , his mind tuning out the small beeps and indicator sounds of the ship as it traveled through hyperspace. Without an astromech droid to make the critical hyperspace calculations, the trip to Denon would take a little longer than it would have if they brought Chopper. But the curmudgeonly droid was busy with other tasks in service of the Rebellion, and Hera in particular. Ezra had hardly even considered taking him along in any case, just another oversight one makes when undertaking one of their first solo missions.

Having to rely on well-established and known hyperspace lanes programmed manually into the nav-computer, the trip was estimated to take several hours. While the first was filled with friendly banter and joking between the two teens streaking through the stars in their small vessel, it had eventually turned to silence and furtive glances; neither having the guts to bring up the one subject each desperately wanted to address, namely their blossoming yet unspoken and unrealized romance.

After draining a now-cold mug of caf, Sabine had said something about needing to sort something out with her equipment, and had retired to the small utility room behind the cockpit. Ezra had in turn watched her slink away through the door, almost beckoning her back, but only able to make a slight gurgle in his throat which he passed off as a cough.

With reluctance, Ezra had taken to meditating while the ship did the work of flying. There wasn't much to do with the control yoke while in hyperspace, and Ezra wasn't quite the pilot he fancied himself in any case.

"Ezra!"

His eyes slowly opened, and the familiar sensation of emptiness that happened whenever he disconnected from the Force passed through him quickly.

"I said, what's our ETA?" Sabine asked with amusement. She was more than used to him zoning out while meditating and had taken advantage of that fact for a few devious pranks in years past on the Ghost, until Kanan put a stop to it of course. Ezra had slowly gained his Master's ability to meditate while also keeping some semblance of awareness to the world around him, but on this occasion had let himself succumb completely to his communion with the mystical energy field. He had a lot on his mind and needed the break in order to sort out his competing emotions.

"Oh, umm.." he began to say, blinking his eyes several times as the real world came back into focus. Looking at a readout, he finally answered "18 minutes"

"You're lucky I came up here when I did" she said, sitting down in the co-pilots chair beside him.

Ezra finally took a moment to look at her, and his eyes opened ever wider. Sabine had been busy.

Sabine sat, fully encased in her customary Mandalorian armor, minus her helmet, which sat on the floor next to her. But instead of the familiar whites, oranges, pinks, and blues she usually sported, the armor had been painted entirely black. No, not black, midnight blue, with small embellishments of a deep almost burnt gold outlining the edges. And she had changed her hair to match.

"What?" Sabine asked, noticing his look and giving him a slightly bemused twitch of her brow.

"Sabine..your armor" Ezra stuttered

"Yeah, I told you I was going to have to disguise it somehow. My usual look is a little well known these days" she answered, returning her eyes to the console in front her. "Which reminds me, you'd better go get ready too".

Ezra stared for several more moments, unmoving and silent.

"16 minutes…" she said in a sing song voice, finally prompting him to untuck his legs and gracelessly stumble to his feet.

"Yeah, right" he answered awkwardly, still not able to draw his eyes from her. The way the gold in her hair played with the reflection of her eyes was simply mesmerizing.

He returned several minutes later to find her still hunched over the controls, making last minutes corrections and confirmations for ship settings, only looking up at him when the door swished shut.

"Not bad" She said, giving him an approving once-over. Ezra wore black pants that looked to be a mix between a vac-suit, armor, and tactical pants. Over a dark grey shirt he wore a black jacket, which hung open and revealed his muscular chest underneath.

"I like the look. Very….dangerous" she said, giving him a smile with just a tiny bit of seduction laced in.

"Thanks" he mumbled back, slightly embarrassed.

"You'd better stow that shy gallant Jedi attitude until we get back, where we're going they'll eat you alive"

"You sound like you know the place pretty well" Ezra replied, sinking back into his seat.

"Well like I said before, it's not my first trip to Denon" Sabine said, looking over at him, her hands still skillfully dancing across the controls.

The _Starbird_ descended through the clouds of the upper atmosphere, murky darkness giving way to dazzling lights as the ship passed through the lower cloud layer. Endless domes, towering skyscrapers, spires, and massive buildings stretched as far as the eye could see and beyond.

"Wow" was all Ezra could say as he took in the sight. He had never seen such monuments to the industriousness of civilization before. As a child he thought Capital City on Lothal must have been the largest city in the galaxy. But even as he had grown and begun his travels with the Ghost, he had never seen a city that covered an _entire planet_.

Sabine gave him a look out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but smile. While she knew that places like Denon were far more treacherous than they appeared, she couldn't deny the view, and she didn't want to spoil his moment.

"Independent vessel Starbird: transmit destination and authorized payment for docking" a computerized voice sounded over the comm system.

"One nice thing about working with the Rebellion" Sabine said as she began punching in the account information to a shell corporation the Rebellion secretly owned out of Alderaan, "We don't have to land in the middle of the desert anymore"

"Especially since this place doesn't have one" Ezra joked back

The ship trembled as docking droids locked on with tractor beams, guiding the small craft onto one of what looked like hundreds of floating docking platforms nestled among the sprawling cityscape.

A mechanical whine reverberated through the ship as the large wings rotated to the vertical position for landing, prompting the two teens to simultaneously rise to their feet.

"Well, we've got 8 hours before the meetup" Ezra said, looking down at his datapad one last time before initiating a full wipe of the information.

"Right. We should scope the area out while we have a chance. Where is it again?"

"A bar called Flux, entertainment district, sublevel B147" Ezra said, walking to the rear ramp.

"No address?" Sabine asked, joining him.

"Nope. That's all the info they gave me" he answered.

"Well, let's grab a speeder and get moving" she told him, stopping to look at him before leaving the ship.

"Remember what I said Ezra. This place is no joke. I'm sure there's no Sith here, and I know you can handle yourself, but be careful. Everyone here has an angle or a scam. No one is your friend. If you see someone who looks like they need your help, it's a trap."

"Relax Sabine, I'm not gonna do anything stupid. I promise" he said, giving her another goofy grin.

Sabine sighed and gritted her teeth. "You know I know you too well to believe that". But after a second she reached out and took his hand in hers, lacing her delicate fingers into his larger calloused ones.

The pair left the pad and hailed one of the many waiting speeder cabs, telling the droid operator to take them to B147, and moments later they descended into the depths of the bottomless buildings.

Ezra was like a child at a fair the way he gaped out the window of the speeder, the thousands of other ships and transports racing around them, bright advertisements on every building, floating in the air, lights dancing in his eyes as he tried to keep track of it all.

Sabine's hand had not left his during the ride, and she spent the trip in silence, not wanting to pester him any more about being careful. She didn't doubt his abilities in a fight, or his commitment to getting the mission done. Part of her wished she hadn't bugged him so much about taking this seriously, but he didn't seem upset about it or her. He really had matured. A younger Ezra would almost certainly have puffed out his chest and taken offense at her warning him about dangers he didn't know yet, but this Ezra had taken her advice in stride.

She looked over at him as he sat staring out the window.

"Ezra?' She asked quietly

"Hmm?" he said distractedly, pulling his face away from the sights and locking eyes with her.

She squeezed his hand, took a deep breath and began to bring up what she had desperately wanted to say for days.

"Do..you…" she began haltingly, but was interrupted by the droid.

"You have arrived at the Entertainment District. Level B147" the machine told them, oblivious to the moment it had ruined.

"Sabine?" Ezra prompted her, still holding her hand and looking into her eyes, sensing her trepidation.

She couldn't do it. There wasn't time now, she convinced herself.

"We'd better go, we're still being charged by the minute" she told him, forcing herself to let go of his hand and stand up to get out of the speeder.

"Yeah…" Ezra said, confused at what just happened, but following her out of the craft.

Soon the two were walking along a mostly deserted catwalk, suspended between two enormous buildings that stretched above them further than the eye could see. No sunlight reached this far down into the city, and only the artificial glow of more advertisements, signs, and the occasional street lamp lit their path. By the look of the signs, many openly advertising everything from brothels to spice dens, the "nicer" areas of the Entertainment District were far above them.

Being a human planet in the Inner Rim, and one under intense Imperial occupation, the vast majority of the other persons skulking in the shadows appeared to be human as well, though the occasional shape with a few too many arms or a different sized head could be seen now and again. Most were minding their own business, offering as little hassle as they wanted themselves. But the occasional group of tough looking thugs gave their duo cold and appraising looks, always on the lookout for the next sucker or victim.

"I'm sensing a lot of hostility down here" Ezra said quietly as another group moved past them.

"Ya think?" Sabine said sarcastically.

"There's another map kiosk up ahead, and it looks like it's not busted" Ezra said, jogging forward.

After scrolling through several screens of data, Ezra finally said "We're only a few blocks away, and it looks like there's some good cover around it. Let's split up and I'll search around the bar, you scope out a few escape routes. We'll meet back in front of 'Otherworldly Delights' across the street."

"You know all those times you asked me out on dates, this isn't exactly what I had in mind" she told him, a thin smile on her face now hidden by her helmet.

"I'll make it up to you next time" he laughed, beginning to walk away briskly towards Flux.

"You better!" she shouted back, walking in a wider circle around the area, marking locations on her wrist terminal. Speeder lots and landing pads, emergency exits, turbo lifts, anything that might help them make a quick escape if needed.

She found him leaning up against the aptly named "Otherworldly Delights" roughly an hour later, trying his hardest to look mean an intimidating, and actually succeeding, much to her surprise. Well, mostly.

"Been waiting long?" she asked as she strode up, her own eyes looking at the lewd holographic ads for the business which was clearly a brothel.

"Not really" Ezra said, standing to join her.

"Surprised you didn't head inside while you waited" she said, taking her helmet off so they could speak more quietly to each other.

"Why would I do that when I've got you right here?" Ezra said slyly, seeing her cheeks turn slightly pink despite the low light.

"Such a charmer" Sabine said, giving him an elbow to the rubs as they began making their way towards the club.

"Well, we still have a little over 4 hours before the meeting, and I don't think we should hang around here the whole time. The last thing we want is for people to remember our faces" she continued as she stopped walking.

Ezra stopped to look at her in turn and asked "Well, you're the expert on this place. What did you have in mind?"

"Care for a drink and maybe a bite to eat?" Sabine asked, with a tinge of hopefulness in her voice and the corners of her mouth upturned slightly in a smile.

"Lead the way my dear" Ezra replied, getting a quizzical look from Sabine as she put her helmet back on.

The pair were soon sharing a transparent lift car as the lights of Denon sparkled around them. Sabine couldn't help but notice the way Ezra's eyes glinted as he looked out over the city, their lift bringing them closer to the surface and to the more reputable part of the district.

Slowly she reached out and entwined her fingers with his, hoping that he wouldn't pull away. She felt a reassuring sensation of strength as he returned the gesture and closed his own hand around hers, still looking through the transparisteel walls of the lift.

They reached their level and she led him out, still hand in hand towards a bar that catered to humans. The street they were now on was much better lit, clean, and lively. Groups of wandering people out enjoying the night life of Denon crowded the streets and the sounds of their laughter and conversation contrasted heavily with the dark foreboding atmosphere they had just left on the lower levels. Sabine led Ezra past numerous restaurants, bars, clubs, theaters, and shops, pushing through the growing crowds of people as the night went on. She finally took a turn down an alley towards a dim sign in a langue Ezra did not recognize and to a low door.

"You sure this place serves humans?" Ezra asked with doubt in his voice.

"Positive, I've been here before. Just trust me" she replied, giving him a raised eyebrow.

"Oh I trust you with a lot" he said, "but this might be stretching it"

"Shut up and follow me" she commanded. "You'll like it".

They entered the bar and headed to a booth in the rear, Sabine once again taking a seat next to him as she had started to do since breakfast earlier that week. Ezra paused to take in the sights, noting a long bar on one side of the room, a raised platform on the other, several tables in the middle, and booths like their own lining the walls. A few of the booths were full and as he looked he saw more people entering and sitting down. Apparently, they had arrived just before the evening rush.

A droid arrived to take their orders, and he allowed her to order for him. She was much more well-traveled than he, and he doubted this place served any Lothalian cuisine. He tried looking at a menu hologram that lighted up on the table, but couldn't make heads or tails of the dishes that were available. A few moments later the droid returned with two drinks in long thin glasses. The fluid was electric purple and seemed to have tiny lights of gold swirling around inside.

"What exactly is this?" he asked, picking one up and giving it an even look.

"I don't actually know how to say the name, but Ketsu told me about them a long time ago. They're really good, but pack a punch so go easy. We still have work to do tonight" she told him, picking her glass up and ignoring her own advice as she downed the entire drink in one gulp.

Ezra gaped at her for a moment before she set the glass down and told him "I know what I'm doing. Besides, I'm older than you" she said with a wink.

"Hey, not by much" he answered, picking up his own glass and downing it in one go just like she had.

Ezra's mouth was filled with what felt like fire and ice mingling together, the chilled purple drink numbing his mouth while the glowing lights he had seen felt like embers from a fire.

"Wow…that was…interesting" he said with a gasp.

"I told you to go easy Bridger. Don't blame me".

She pressed a button on the table and soon the droid returned with another pair of drinks, along with their food.

The bar had begun to fill up comfortably with a small crowd as a band of several different non-humans took the stage near the far wall. The pair ate in silence as the band began to play, not needing words to enjoy the company of the other.

The droid returned roughly an hour later, taking away the empty dishes and bringing steaming cups of caf Sabine had ordered. The drinks were nice, but the night had only gotten started. Sabine took a long sip from the warm invigorating beverage and shifted her body to lean up against Ezra.

Ezra could feel Sabine's body heat even through their clothing as she pressed up against him, taking in the sights and sounds.

Ezra glanced at her and saw a content smile on her face as her eyes moved around the room, taking in the sights. She looked totally relaxed and content, and he briefly wondered if the drinks they had were working on her a little more than she let on. She moved even closer and laid her head against his shoulder, still clutching his hand.

Ezra could feel his own heart beating quickly as his body reacted to the closeness of her. He could still feel her taught muscles through her suit, smell her freshly dyed hair just below his face, and felt the gentle rise and fall of her breathing against his body. She felt simply perfect against him. Like it had always been meant to be. His own mind was still buzzing with the aftereffects of the two strong drinks he had, and it had a noticeable effect on his attitude. Whereas before he might have been too shy or wary to do much else, now his mind began to dream up new options. He slowly untangled his fingers from her, drawing a quiet and disapproving growl from Sabine. If she meant to say something however, she quickly changed her mind as his fingers began to lightly trace circles along her thigh under the table.

Sabine let out a pleased sigh and closed her eyes, halfway focusing on the music from the band while the interesting sensations Ezra's fingers were giving her sent a thrill up her spine. Her own heart now began to beat faster as his hand moved inward slightly and the cloudy feeling the drinks had given her cleared, bringing the touch into sharp focus. She knew what he was doing and what he intended to do. She didn't think she would let it get quite that far..yet, but decided to indulge him, and herself, for at least a moment. His fingers did feel wonderful, even through the tight material of her body suit.

Sabine slowly parted her legs, giving him more room to work, and he took the hint. His fingers moved inward even more, now directly between her legs and just below the spot that was taking her full concentration.

He couldn't believe it worked. He almost froze as he felt her move, thinking that she was about to stop him. But it was quite the opposite. She seemed to almost be inviting him to continue. This was uncharted territory for Ezra. Sure he knew exactly how it all worked in theory. He was a young man with access to the Holonet and his own room. But this was the first time in his life he had a young, beautiful, and eager women in his arms, waiting for him to make another move. So he made another move. Slowly he drifted his hand further in, feeling the heat from her emanating through her body suit. The material was engineered to be perfectly form fitting. This allowed the wearer to more easy regulate body temperature, attach gear and armor to the suit, and allowed the network of sensors and subsystems to monitor and report injuries or changing conditions. It also seemed to have the added benefit of being a near perfect second skin, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination when felt up close. His hand continued to move up and in, now lightly touching the top and his final goal, drawing an involuntary but very noticeable shudder from the girl next to him.

And one more very interesting thing happened. The closeness of her body and the near direct contact caused his Force senses to feel part of what she was feeling. It took no effort for him to sense her emotions or pleasure. It would have in fact taken effort to shut it out, as close as they were now. He thought back to the lessons Kanan had taught him about connecting with others. How he had honed his ability to connect with non-sentient life forms, how the Force allowed a Jedi to influence the mind of the weak-willed, and how it could even be used to read thoughts or send thoughts to others. He knew that for him to be feeling what she was feeling without him trying to sense it himself, she must be the one opening the connection. Obviously not using her own non-existent Force powers, but by letting her mind be open to him, letting her own emotions pour out of her unhindered and totally free. She was hiding nothing from him. And it was something that he noted had _not_ happened the previous times they had been this close and sharing a seemingly intimate moment. She had changed her mind on something, and he was dying to know what.

But as much as she wanted this to last forever, she knew that too much lay between them unsaid to just go with it. They both may have been enjoying this immensely, but she still had her Mandalorian honor to think about. Casual touches from even someone she had known for years and had grown to love were just not her way. It had to mean something.

"Ezra?" she said lazily as the band played on across the room.

"Hmm?" He answered, still not stopping his ministrations on her thigh.

"Stop for a second" she answered, causing him to abruptly do so with a look of concern and slight embarrassment on his face.

"I'm sorry…did I.." he began to mumble, drawing his hand away from her entirely and looking dejected.

She quickly grabbed his hand and pulled it back to her lap, setting it on her thigh, no longer massaging parts that hadn't been touched by anyone but her, but giving him a clear sign that she wasn't pushing him away.

"No Ezra, it's not that..I don't…I…umm enjoyed what you were doing, really" she mumbled herself, sounding an awful lot like him. 'How did this boy get me so tongue tied?' she admonished herself, taking a deep breath and gathering her thoughts.

Ezra opened his senses to the Force and felt her turmoil. She was building up to something, but his own respect for her prevented him from using his powers to dig deeper into her emotions to find out what until she was ready to tell him on her own. He desperately wished it was the same thing he wanted to tell her, but despite all that had happened over the past week, he wasn't quite ready to give in fully to that level of hope. So he waited, knowing she would say what she had to say soon enough.

The pair sat in silence for a few more moments, both listening to the music and the sounds of the crowd enjoying the night before she spoke again.

"So it's been an interesting few days…" she began, thinking back to when this all had begun on the ramp in the Ghost after their last mission as a crew.

"Yeah, it has" he said, looking down at her, his eyes piercing into hers. She could feel his hand trembling in hers as he waited for her to continue. She could see the desire in his eyes and knew he could see hers too. She had known it in the storage room on the _Starbird_ , again on the floor of the hanger, and again in the clearing after their fight. Each time they had been so close to letting it all out, and each time something had stopped them.

Suddenly Sabine found herself frustrated with all this dancing around the issue. She wasn't going to let something ruin it yet again. The drama, the hesitation, the childish waiting. 'Kriff it' she thought with sudden resolve. 'It's now or never'.

Sabine reached up and grabbed Ezra by the back of his head and pulled him down to her, their lips meeting in a sudden frenzy.

If she had to guess what her first kiss with Ezra might have been like, this wasn't it. But in a way, it made sense. Both teens had been living life by the seat of their pants for years, never knowing what tomorrow would bring, or if they'd be alive to see it. Both doing far more reckless and sporadic things in a week than billions of people their age do in a lifetime. Why not have their first kiss be the same way? Why not a sudden rush of passion, charging head first into something they both barely understood, but clearly both wanted.

Ezra got over his shock quickly enough and soon opened his mouth to deepen the kiss. She returned the motion with fervor and soon their tongues were dancing with each other as their hands began to explore each other's bodies in ways they had been wanting for days if not years. The pent-up frustration of being interrupted, teased, and stopped the several times they had almost kissed over the past few days was released in an instant.

Ezra's hand moved back between her legs, and this time she did nothing to stop him. Her own hands found their way to his back as she pulled him closer. The cramped booth did not make any of this easy for either of them, but they soldiered through it and made do.

The pair lost track of time, just enjoying the new sensations the other brought, but before long they parted and looked into each other's eyes once again.

"Sabine…" Ezra said, with a look half in confusion and half satisfaction, as he brought his hand up to run his fingers through her hair.

"Shut up Ezra. We both want this and you know it." She said, eyes flashing with a hidden fire.

"I knew I wanted it, but you.." he trailed off.

"Well things change Ezra. I didn't want you before. But now I do."

"Are you sure this is really.." he began to ask her, the suddenness of her actions and their ensuing passion giving way to rational thought. He wanted this. By the Force he wanted this so badly. But he had to know for sure this was real, not simply one night of wanton revelry to be forgotten by morning.

"Yes Ezra, I'm sure" she interrupted him, knowing exactly what he meant. She gave him a serious look and continued. "I know we have a lot to talk about, and I know this isn't going to be easy. Maybe now isn't the time for that conversation, but we will have it, and I'm not going to change my mind. You don't need to worry. I'm not going anywhere"

"But your family…" he protested, remembering their fight the previous day and how quickly fun had turned into outright combat. He cringed as he realized he might be screwing this whole thing up already by bringing that point up with her, but she was once again well ahead of him.

"I know Ezra. We need to talk about that too. I just mean that this, whatever this is between us, isn't going away. Whatever happens, I'm not going to forget about it. Is that good enough for now?" she asked, her eyes pleading with him. She knew that despite what she said, this relationship was far from settled and that anything could happen. But right now it just felt right, and she didn't want to ruin the moment by talking about the future.

He looked at her for a long moment, doubt and reluctance teasing the edges of his mind before he made the choice to shut them out. He opened his mouth to begin to speak, but was silenced before he began.

"Attention citizens! Hands, tentacles, and other appendages where we can see them and ID's out. This is a welfare and loyalty inspection!" a booming voice echoed through the small room as the lights went up to full and the band stopped mid song. A shocked silence washed over the room as all eyes shot towards the front door.

4 Imperial Stormtroopers, white armor shining in the overhead lights, flanked a tall thin Imperial officer in a crisp grey uniform and cap. A black astromech droid chirped next to the officer as he surveyed the crowd.

'Kriff' Ezra and Sabine said together as they huddled further into their booth, hoping to avoid notice. The crowd in the bar had already began grumbling as each person began to reach into pockets, pouches, purses, and jackets for their Imperial Citizen ID chips.

"Ours won't stand up to real inspection" Sabine whispered quickly in his ear. They had fake ID's of course, crafted by AP5 back on Yavin. But the Empire had recently updated their databases and protocols to deal with precisely that sort of thing. Sure they would be fine with a cursory glance from a bored Stormtrooper at a checkpoint, but not with a Astromech tied into the Imperial datanet checking the validity of the codes imbedded on the chip itself.

The officer had already begun to move through the crowd with the droid in tow, two Stormtroopers following him and the other two taking up positions on either side of the front door.

"Does this place have a back door?" Ezra asked quickly, coming up with a plan on the fly.

"How the hell should I know?" she shot back, trying to keep her voice low.

"I thought you said you've been here!" he answered, peaking around the corner of the booth and trying not to be seen.

"Yeah, I have! But I wasn't doing a building inspection" she answered acidly, her own hands reaching for her blasters and preparing to solve this the Mandalorian way.

Ezra looked back and saw she was getting ready for a fight.

"No, wait. If we start shooting, we'll draw the whole sector garrison to this area. And if we escape, they'll start looking for us. We still have our mission"

"Well what's the plan then?" She said, not happy with being told not to shoot some bucketheads who were standing so close and just waiting to be cut down.

"Get one of your smoke grenades ready. Not an explosive or a stunner, just regular black smoke. And be ready to run".

"You got it" she replied, holstering her blaster and pulling the small grey sphere of the grenade from behind her back.

Ezra didn't have time to explain the plan to her, only to act. He closed his eyes and reached out with the force, sensing all of the life in the room and even that on the streets nearby. He concentrated harder and narrowed his focus to the light fixtures on the ceiling above. If he could pull one down, then shut off the lights to the entire room, that combined with the smoke might give them enough distraction to slip out the back, if there was a back. And with any luck, the whole thing would look like an accident.

He gave one last glance over to Sabine who was hard at work attaching leads from her wrist computer to the terminal on the table.

"What are you doing? We don't have time!" he growled at her.

"If they check the records for this table, they'll know there were two people here and that we aren't here anymore. I'm wiping the database to make it look this table was empty".

Ezra sat impatiently, eyeing the officer who was busy running an ID card through the droid's receptor slot and waited for Sabine to finish.

"There, I'm done. Do it" she told him, not knowing what 'it' was, but trusting him completely nonetheless.

So he did. Closing his eyes once again, he started the show. A creaking groan of metal filled the room as a light future began to sway in its housing, then finally came crashing down, shattering a table and sending patrons and Imperials alike diving for cover. Next he reached out and used the Force to touch the lighting panel on the far wall, causing the lights in the whole room to flicker, then go out. Finally he wafted the smoke grenade up through the darkness and into the hole in the ceiling left by the light. If the Stormtrooper found the empty grenade shell itself, this whole thing would be pointless, so he had to hide that as well. Touching it off with his mind, he waited a few seconds before hearing the light hiss as the smoke began erupting from the small sphere, filling the narrow gap in the ceiling, then pouring down into the room.

"Now!" he whisper-shouted, grabbing Sabine's hand and pulling her out of the booth. As they rose, he used the Force one last time to push a stumbling patron right into the nearest Stormtrooper who was still on his feet, causing him to flail to the ground and drop his blaster.

Ezra and Sabine dashed through the darkness, him aided by the Force and her by the nightvision sensors in her helmet, through the rear doors, then through the kitchen, and out into the empty alley behind the bar. Thankfully there had been a back door.

The two kept running for a few blocks, then slowed to a jog, and finally a brisk walk, blending into a crowd of people standing outside one of the more upscale dance clubs.

They leaned against a wall, catching their breath and looking at each other, then both simultaneously burst out laughing, drawing a few confused glances from the line of partiers waiting to get into the club.

"Well that's one way to do a first date Bridger" Sabine said, still laughing.

"What can I say, I do know how to entertain a lady" he replied

"Promises promises Bridger" She said with a wink, not at all forgetting the progress their blossoming relationship had just taken.

Getting serious for a moment she said "C'mon, lets get out of here. We need to be somewhere else, and fast. Let's head back to the sublevel. We have another date soon anyways."

"Right" Ezra answered, still catching his breath and walking next to her as they quickly made their way back to another vertical lift.

Entering the car and punching the button for B147, Ezra began to open his mouth to talk about what happened.

"So that was.." he started

"Not here" She said, giving him a pointed look and glancing at the ceiling, hoping he would remember what Kanan had told them about all the monitoring and surveillance equipment the Empire had installed just about everywhere. A lift that serviced the upper levels would be a prime place for such devices.

They stood in silence as the car rode the tracks further and further down into the belly of the city, the lights growing dimmer just as they had the first time they came this low. The car finally slowed then halted, doors opening with a chime onto the same grimy and meagerly lit catwalk they had walked on a few hours before.

After exiting and walking a few blocks to a deserted courtyard far enough away from any buildings to draw suspicion, Sabine spoke up again.

"This should be alright. You remember what Kanan said. The Empire is always listening."

"Right, good thinking. And even better thinking with the table. I totally forgot about that. They would be looking for us right now for sure if you hadn't wiped the records of our orders. Thanks Sabine." He said seriously, standing to lean against a railing.

"That's what makes us a great team" she said, standing to lean into his chest in turn.

"By the way, what would you have done if there was no back door?" Sabine couldn't help but ask.

"I have no idea. Probably let you handle it". He laughed back.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, her neck leaning back and nuzzling against his. She had taken her helmet off to look at him for real, and he responded by placing a light kiss on her lips.

She returned the kiss briefly, quickly brushing her tongue against his and biting his lip lightly before pulling away, a promise of more to come.

"Not now Ezra. We still have work to do, and it's less than an hour before our meeting. We better get going." She told him, reluctantly pulling away.

"Awww c'mon, just a little more?" he whined, giving her his best puppy dog eyes look and moving to pull her back.

"No" she giggled, darting out his grasp. "This is _your_ mission and I'm the one keeping you on track. I told you that you needed me"

"I already knew I needed you" he said, lacing a tiny bit of meaning into the words, which she picked up on.

"Yeah well I need you too. I'll tell ya what, once we get back to the ship we can continue this 'conversation' in full. It's long flight back home…work now, play later".

"Fine, but I'll hold you to that. You still owe me my prize for beating you in our fight" he said, pulling her in close once again.

"Hold me to it huh? You better." She said with lust in her voice. She placed another kiss on his cheek and then pulled away again.

"And we agreed that it was a draw, remember".

"You agreed. I agreed that I won" he smirked back.

"Whatever Bridger. Let's go." And the pair walked hand in hand towards their final destination.

* * *

A/N: I thought long and hard about how I wanted to finally address the romantic stuff with them. After all that buildup over the course of this story, it was hard to decide how I wanted to play it. But in the end, I think this way made the most sense. Sabine is not someone who gets wrapped up in teenage drama and angst like some high school girl. She's brash, confident, determined, and tends to grab what she wants when she wants it. She's a deeply emotional person as we can see in the later episodes of S03 and now in the S04 premier, but she keeps that side of her hidden most of the time. But when she does trust someone enough to let it out, she doesn't hold back. Just look at her fight with Kanan in Trials of the Darksaber. So I could definitely see Sabine just saying screw it and skipping over all the angsty stuff and just grabbing Ezra for a kiss. Deciding that's what she wants and seeing if that's what he still wants was the hard part for her. Once that was out of the way, just go for it. Yeah there are other ways it might have played out, but I'm sticking by this way for this story at least. I think it fits well with her attitude. I'm considering another one-shot that might handle it a bit differently, but for this story, she just goes for it. And don't worry, they still have to actually talk about what they're actually going to do now that it's all out on the table, so you angst lovers will still get some of that too. It might look like the big hurdle of getting them to finally be together is over, but we're not quite done with these two just yet ;)


	11. Chapter 11 - Meeting

Standard Disclaimer: All characters, references, planets, species, etc are the property of Disney and they retain all rights.

A/N: I haven't had too much action in this story yet, as I wanted to focus on the characters, what they're thinking, feeling, and how their relationship developed. But this is Star Wars of course, so with that being said….read on.

* * *

"Alright, so just like we planned. I'll go in first and head to the back. I'll send you an all clear on your terminal and you can come in about 10 minutes later."

Sabine was just confirming the details of their plan with Ezra around the corner of the club where they waited in an alley, watching her new boyfriend? Lover? _Riduur….?_ Fidget around while giving her an uneasy look as she spoke.

"Sabine, why don't I just go in myself, or we can go together…?" he asked haltingly while brushing the back of his head with his hand.

"Ezra Bridger I will not have you start treating me like some child or damsel in distress because of whatever this is going on between us" Sabine stated matter-of-factly, her hands on her hips and her eyes blazing with a cold fire.

"I know Sabine, I'm not trying to.." but she cut him off.

"We have been risking our lives just like this together for years, and if you think I'm going to start waiting on the ship while you go off and fight or never be out of your sight, we can just call this whole thing off right now and go back to the way things were". She was still glaring at him, not letting up for even a second lest he think she was anything less than totally serious.

Ezra tried returning the glare, but he was never going to be a match for her in this sort of battle and he knew it.

"I know Sabine, I'm sorry, let's just…"

"No. I want to hear you say it Ezra."

He gave her one more halfway pleading look, then let out a long sigh, finally relenting.

"I'm not going to treat you any different Sabine. You're right. We've been trusting each other this long, I'm not going to stop now" Ezra finally told her, his own eyes flashing not with anger or resentment, but utter sincerity and commitment.

Her stern gaze immediately shifted into a bright smile that seemed like it would light up the entire alley as she basked in her victory.

"Good. Now that that's cleared up" she said, while aggressively moving forward and pinning Ezra to the wall behind him. Her lips met his once again, even more forcefully than they had an hour ago. Her hands snaked behind his back and pulled him into her, as if she wanted every inch of her to feel every inch of him at once.

Ezra was getting used to this sort of outburst from her, and truthfully, he relished it. The years he had spent dreaming about finally kissing her didn't even come close to the real thing. And while he knew the spunky Mando girl could be forceful and even dominating when situation called for it, he never imagined that those same personality traits would be reflected in the way she loved.

He decided that it was high time to return the favor as he used his considerable strength to pick the lithe girl right up from the ground, his hands finding their own comfortable positions right on her butt, while spinning her around so she was now against the wall.

She adapted quickly and wrapped her legs around his waist, holding onto his jacket to keep steady, though realizing that she didn't need to. He was keeping her up just fine on his own. His lips began moving down her jaw line to her neck, giving her slight bites and eliciting faint moans to spurn him on.

" _Elek…"_ Sabine moaned in his ear as he bit down on her neck, lapsing back into her native language while her mind was overcome. Ezra slowly returned to her lips, transitioning from savage passion to gentle kisses of endearment before setting her back down on the ground.

Sabine's legs felt shaky as her breath returned to normal, choosing instead to collapse into him and just feel his own steady heartbeat while her mind returned to the moment.

'What have I gotten myself into' she thought to herself before standing up and straightening her armor.

"Just because you can kiss me like that doesn't mean I'm changing my mind Ezra" she said, trying to regain an ounce of the commanding voice she had before their embrace, but her own wide smile and dazzling eyes with just a hint of wetness betrayed her.

"Yes dear" Ezra said with a grin, knowing he had finally gotten the best of the Mandalorian warrior, if only for a moment.

"Soooo…back to the plan." She said again, clearing her throat and trying to put on a serious look, but not quite succeeding.

"You come after I give you the signal and go sit in the back booth like we planned. I'll be watching from across the bar. Make sure your earpiece is in and your scrambler is up before you come inside."

"You got it babe" Ezra laughed.

This caused Sabine to just roll her eyes at him with mock exasperation.

"And besides 'babe', if anything bad really happens…" she told him, leaning in for one last kiss, "I know my strong Jedi Knight will be there to protect me, as always".

And with a devilish smirk, she donned her helmet, and walked off purposefully in the direction of the club.

* * *

Ezra stood in the alley by himself, fidgeting with his gear to keep his mind off the danger he was already imagining Sabine was in. His trusty DL-44 heavy blaster rested firmly in its holster, fully charged and recalibrated, thanks to his girlfriend. His girlfriend. He still couldn't believe it. As if the whirlwind of teasing, flirting, hopeful glances, and loving touches they had shared over the past week were just some dream he would wake up from. Granted she had never actually _said_ that she was his girlfriend. That would hopefully be a part of this talk they were supposed to have after this mission was over with, but he now finally allowed himself to embrace hope that it would really come true.

His lightsaber hung inside his jacket, clipped to a hidden fastener near his left armpit, out of sight but ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, but he greatly preferred it to a blaster any day, something Sabine would scoff at. Her own unique dark bladed lightsaber had been left back at Yavin with Kanan. She was no Jedi and a lightsaber was not her life as it was his. And she would never forgive herself if it were lost or taken on a minor mission such as this. That blade was destined for far greater things.

'It's been like an hour!' Ezra thought impatiently, glancing down at his wrist terminal and seeing that it had in fact been less than that. 4 minutes.

Ezra kicked a piece of trash down the alley with another long sigh, still waiting for his moment to rush in and save Sabine from some deadly peril.

He checked to ensure his jammer was powered on and running as she had instructed, and his tiny comm earpiece was in place. His holdout blaster was tucked into the rear of his pants, and the tiny spheres that were his few stun grenades jingled in his pocket. He was ready for whatever might happen. Now if only that girl would send him the damn signal.

7 minutes.

Ezra took a deep breath and decided to calm himself through the Force, something he knew he should have been doing this whole time. Sabine had been in danger many times. In fact, she was doing this sort of thing when he was stealing Jogan fruit on Lothal. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and steadying his breath. The familiar tingle of the Force surged through his mind and opened his senses to the world around him. He could feel people in the buildings above, beneath, and all around him, despite the dark and empty look of the dirty alley in which he stood. He stretched out his senses toward the club and felt the energy of what must have been hundreds of people. Competing emotions of joy, anger, lust, love, depression, satisfaction, resentment, and camaraderie mingled with each other into a haze of feeling. He thought he could just pick out one familiar and comfortable life in the crowd, a steady, determined, and calm warrior's mind…..

 _Beep._

The chime of his terminal woke him from his communion with the Force. He looked down to see only one word.

"Ready"

'Finally' Ezra thought as he stood up. His brief meditation had done the trick and his mind was clear and focused, the butterflies in his stomach settled and his apprehension subdued by reason and faith. Faith in the Force, and faith in his friend and partner, Sabine Wren.

He began to walk.

Noise assaulted Ezra's ears as the doors to Flux whisked open, and he wished for a moment he had brought one of his stolen Imperial helmets. While the way they deadened one's senses was terrible for the soldiers meant to wear them, it would have been very useful for him at this moment. As he made his way through the front entry chamber and past the droid running the door check, he was momentarily taken aback by the cacophony of noise, light, scents, and feelings that assaulted him both physically and spiritually. The taste he had gotten in the alley was no match for being here in person.

He pushed his way past throngs of people dancing, laughing, kissing, touching, and other…things, as he moved through the main room towards the private suites in the rear.

A sultry feminine voice halted him in his tracks as he felt a soft touch on his hand. A blue skinned Twi'lek who had to be even younger than him had intercepted him.

"You look like you've had a long day" she said, her voice oozing with desire. The fact that she was wearing what passed as a "dress" but did nothing to hide any of the things one normally wears clothes for did not escape his notice. Neither did the twinge of danger and deception in the back of his mind when she touched him.

" _When the Force is telling you something Ezra, listen"_ his teacher had told him on many occasions.

"Let's grab a drink and you can tell me all about your…journeys. I bet you have some stories to tell" the girl told him, her eyes roaming around his body and taking in his rough and roguish appearance.

"Maybe another time" Ezra said, side-stepping the obvious bait for whatever trap he was certain others were laying for strangers and hapless victims.

"You sure about that? I can do things to you you can't even imagine" she cooed, not wanting to let him pass without one more try at seduction.

"I can imagine quite a bit" Ezra retorted and moved away, leaving the girl in his wake.

'You weren't kidding about this place Sabine' he thought to himself as he neared the door to the rear lounge.

Another door hissed open, and again closed behind him, and like a switch the noise and light of the dance club faded to nothing.

Ezra stood inside a dimly lit cantina. Low ceilings, smoky air, the hushed whispers of patrons who wanted to remain undisturbed contrasting with the hectic bustle of the main club just on the other side of the door. He gave a quick glance around the room and felt a wash of relief as he spied the deceptively thin figure of a Mandalorian girl in dark armor leaning against the bar, her helmet next to her and a drink in her hand.

She didn't even look up as he entered and she appeared for all intents to be just part of the crowd. Another travel worn pilot, merc, or bounty hunter taking in some relaxation before the next job.

'I wonder how many nights like this she had before meeting Hera…' he thought before catching himself staring at her.

Ezra put on his best game face and sauntered over to an empty booth nestled into the far side of the small room. Sitting with his back to the wall, he could just see Sabine over the heads of the other patrons, her eyes looking up at a pod-racing holo playing behind the bar, still for all the world looking like she'd done this a million times. For all he knew, she had.

He knew he needed to look the same if he wasn't going to be outed as a rebel, or worse, an easy mark. He put on his best bored and relaxed expression while he put one foot up on a small foot rest that encircled the table, lazily letting his right hand drift down next to his blaster. He saw that he was far from the only one in the establishment who kept a weapon at hand, though none of the other patrons looked like they wanted a fight any more than he did.

Beings from a dozen different species sat or leaned in small groups around the cantina, most with a drink of some form, and many smoking or inhaling vapors he was sure weren't legal. They wore flight suits and armor for the most part, and every one was armed in some fashion.

"May I take your order sir?" the mechanical voice of a droid on a single spherical wheel asked him. He vaguely recognized the droid as the same kind Maul had employed as soldiers when he had taken his Ghost family hostage.

Caught up in that random memory, he panicked for a brief instant while he struggled to remember the code phrase he had been told to use.

"Umm I'm good for now" He blurted, causing the droid to begin to turn around.

"Wait. Know where I can find transport to Corellia?" he said, trying to play it off as the most casual question anyone could ask.

The droid spun back to face him, and the friendly face displayed on the screen which made its head paused just longer than seemed normal.

"I'm afraid not sir. Will there be anything else?"

"No, that's it. Thanks."

"My pleasure sir" and the droid wheeled away back towards the bar.

'Well. I guess that's it now.' Ezra thought, unsure if he had screwed it all up, or if things were about to blow up in his face. What if this whole thing was an Imperial sting? What if the contact had already been captured and tortured into revealing the plan? There could be Stormtroopers waiting outside to pick him up right now. Or worse, to kill Sabine.

His worried fantasies were immediately halted when a figure slid into the booth opposite him and slid a glass across the table in his direction.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Ezra, Sabine had indeed noticed when he entered the back room of the club. Blending in to a place such as this was second nature to her, and though it had been years since she had occasion to come to a cantina like this one, she knew the lay of the land pretty well. One shady bar filled with criminals was the same as the next all over the galaxy.

When she sat down, she was briefly reminded of the many times her and Ketsu had come to places like this, and could easily imagine Ketsu making a loud entrance, slamming some credits down on the bar, ordering several rounds at once, then scoping out the rest of the crowd for her next mark, or next carnal adventure. Ketsu had always been more of a flirt than Sabine, and she could tell from the moment they met back at the Academy that she had some kind of anger or deep-seated desire to prove herself that drove her to living life hard and fast, taking risks where patience would have served better. Sabine had that anger too, which is why she could easily see it in the other girl, but for Sabine it had driven her to other places. She was far more likely to find herself in front of a canvas or a blank section of wall than the bed of a strange man (or woman) when her own demons caught up to her. Ketsu on the other hand…

But Ketsu wasn't here. Ezra was. He had just moved to the back of the room and sat down in the empty booth. She was watching him in the reflection of a blank monitor behind the bar, keeping an eye on him from afar. She knew he could handle himself. She had warned him about this place and what to expect, and so far he had done well for himself. Their escape from the restaurant earlier that night had proven that. The way he had quickly executed an escape plan while she handled the details that she knew he hadn't thought of. Both of them working together like halves of a whole.

She thought back to their missions together on Concord Dawn or with Iron Squadron, or many the other times the pair of them had been sent out alone. She hadn't noticed how easily they fell into working as a team even while it was happening. When she fell, he was there to grab her hand. When he missed something, she didn't. Over and over, each making the other better, each filling in the gaps the other left out, and each becoming a necessary part of the life of the other in the process.

And now here they were again, out on a mission together, the two halves once again making the other stronger.

"Haven't seen you around" a gruff male voice that was trying a little too hard to sound charming broke her from her nostalgia.

Sabine looked away from the monitor and found that a tall muscular Shorak had taken the seat next to hers and was signaling to the bartending droid for another round. The man had shoulder length hair, almost like Kanan, but instead of a neat ponytail, it hung loose around his head. And like her own hair, it was died with a myriad of colors, black, red, orange, and white. The man wore the usual mish-mash of armor pieces and flight gear that was common for underworld types and spacers, and she could see intricate tattoos covering his arms, neck and even on his face.

Sabine finally caught his eye, the same deep amber of her own, and saw a wide smile painted on his face, though experience taught her to be wary of anyone appearing to be a friend in a place like this.

"Just passing through" Sabine replied, taking her eyes away from him and returning to the monitor.

"Ah, well if more women like you were just passing through, Denon might not be so bad" the man persisted with a chuckle.

Sabine ignored the obvious attempt at flirting and took a sip of her drink. She surreptitiously glanced around the rest of the bar through the reflection, and saw that three more men had entered while this one was trying to charm her. All three took seats across the room, and all three were sitting so that they could see her easily. None of them had bothered to get anything to drink.

"So what brings you to Denon miss….?" The man asked, not letting up, and still trying to sound friendly.

"Just another job" Sabine replied curtly not giving her name and now trying to keep track of Ezra, the three new faces behind her, and the one next to her. This was starting to get a little weird, and even if this guy was on the level, she didn't have time to fend off another scoundrel looking for an easy lay. Not while they were in the middle of a mission.

"Ah, then I see we've got something in common" he said, taking a sip of his own drink and resettling himself on the chair, just a little bit closer to her.

"And what is it you do?"

"Bounty hunter" Sabine said, putting a hint of menace in her voice to warn him off.

"Well now, that is funny. There's another thing we have in common" he replied, while casting his own look up at the blank monitor, seemingly to the trio of thugs behind them.

Just as Sabine was about to reply, she saw a figure slip into Ezra's booth.

* * *

For the second time that night, a seductive feminine voice interrupted his thoughts.

"I didn't think you would be so…handsome" another sultry voice told him, only this time it was no Twi'lek dancer. She was human. Very obviously human. Unlike the many partiers in the adjacent club, this girl was not wearing the barely-there style of dress that was the fashion on these Inner city-worlds. She wore tight black pants and thigh high boots, an _extremely_ form fitting grey shirt under a black jacket not-so different from his own. Long blonde hair fell well past her shoulders and bright green eyes looked into his own blue ones as he took in the sight. While Sabine's figure could be accurately described as slender, petite, even delicate (if you didn't know her), this girl, no woman, was the picture of curves and seduction. The shirt did little to hide what she was clearly proud of and didn't mind showing off, and the knowing smile indicated the outfit had its intended effect on Ezra.

"Umm..excuse me?" Ezra said, still recovering from the shock.

"I heard you're looking for passage to Corellia…at least that's what the droid told me. It may have been a misunderstanding" she said evenly, her eyes still giving him a once over.

Ezra came back into the moment and realized this was it. This was the contact. Back to the mission.

"Yeah, that's what I told him. My friends told me this was a good place to look for that sort of thing" Ezra said, putting a slight emphasis on the word 'friends'.

"Oh your friends told you that?" She replied, putting the same emphasis on the word and locking eyes with him, both trying to get a read of the other.

"Yeah, my friends." Ezra said, still testing the waters.

"And where are these friends of yours?" the woman asked innocently, but the keen look in her eyes showed that it was anything but casual conversation.

Ezra thought about how to answer the question. If she was the real thing, he needed to let her know he was with the Rebellion. If she was a false-flag or bait, he couldn't tip his hand.

"They try to stay out of the Inner Rim, they're not really welcome around here" he said finally, hoping she picked up on the hint.

"I see…" The woman said. "Sounds like they'd be my kind of friends too. Things in the Inner Rim aren't what they used to be, or so I've been told". She couldn't nearly be old enough to remember the days of the Republic, just as Ezra wasn't.

"Yeah, there's a lot of that going around" Ezra said, now reaching out with the Force and trying to sense her intentions.

He felt, unease, fear, trepidation, uncertainty, and a small twinge of hope. But no deception or malice, at least not from her. There was plenty of that around too, but the woman in front of him seemed genuine.

"Yes, I've heard" she continued. "A lot of people aren't happy with the way things are being run on Denon. Maybe a little change would be a good thing…"

"My friends would agree with you there" Ezra said, picking up the hint and taking a sip from the drink she brought him.

"Well, I'd love to meet them sometime. I think there's a lot we could learn from each other" the woman said reaching into her jacking and palming a small object.

"I think they'd like that too. They're always up for meeting new people. Especially the kind who would like some things to change" Ezra said, thinking that this whole thing might really come off without a hitch.

He looked up briefly towards Sabine to see that she was in the middle of conversation with a hulking humanoid man, one who looked like he was getting a little too friendly with his Sabine.

The woman saw the dark glimmer of uncertainty pass over Ezra's face, and quickly glanced around the room for any sign of danger. She saw nothing but the rest of the crowd. Not a Stormtrooper or Imperial in sight. Except for her of course. And if they caught her here talking with this Rebel, she was as good as dead.

"Well, it was nice to meet you. What did you say your name was?"

"Jabba" Ezra replied without even thinking. His use of the false name had become so normal for him that he didn't even remember that the Empire knew he used that name already.

"Well Jabba, I hope you find transport to Corellia. This should help" she told him as she reached under the table and found his hand.

Ezra felt the cold hard texture of a small computer chip in his palm as the hand left his. He then felt delicate fingers brush lightly along his thigh before the hand was gone.

"I hope to see you again Jabba" she told him with a sweet smile. "Next time you're in the neighborhood, look me up"

The woman stood up and Ezra stood with her. Before he knew it she had leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, then started walking briskly to the door. He involuntarily watched her long legs and firm behind retreat towards the door, and then she was gone. Ezra stood for a moment watching the door close and wondering just who the mysterious woman really was.

* * *

"Touch me again, and you'll lose more than a hand!" Sabine's voice rang through the small dark room, drawing all eyes toward her.

Ezra looked over in alarm to see Sabine pinning the interloper to the bar with one arm, and one of her WESTAR-35 blasters held to the back of his head. In a flash he ran over to stand next to her and was just reaching inside his jacket for his lightsaber when she caught his eye and gave him a quick shake of the head. Against his better judgement, he trusted her and withdrew his hand, placing it instead of the grip of his own blaster.

"Hey, calm down!" the Shorak was shouting, still struggling to be let up. Ezra had no idea what prompted Sabine to attack him, but if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for him. He held back, only a few paces away, reaching out with the Force to detect and more hidden dangers. And he found some.

Shock or annoyance had been the most common emotions he sensed in the room, from patrons who didn't want anyone to make a scene that might draw Imperials, or employees who didn't want to clean up the mess. A few others were feeling glee and anticipation for the possibility of getting to see a good fight. But the three men who sat in another booth were filled with anger, hatred, greed, and aggression. Something about Sabine's fight with this man meant a great deal to them. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't plan on sticking around to find out.

"Sabine, let's go" Ezra told her.

She looked up and gave him a nod, withdrawing the weapon but not holstering it. Slowly she let go of the arm he had pinned behind his back, taking a step back. The man rose and gave her an icy glare.

"This isn't over Wren" he spat.

Sabine was shocked, but only for a second. The Shorak knew who she was. Ezra had said her first name, but he knew her Clan. This wasn't good at all.

"Same plan." Sabine told Ezra quickly, looking around the room and making her way behind the bar, past a confused droid, and into the kitchen

"Right" Ezra answered, quickly following.

Unlike on their impromptu date, this time they did know for a fact the bar had a back entrance thanks to their recon, and they quickly rushed past kitchen droids to the door.

"Sabine, how did he know your name?" Ezra asked hurriedly

"I don't know Ezra. Let's get out of here" she shot back, opening the door and stepping through.

"Sabine wait!" Ezra shouted, but it was too late. His abilities had warned him of danger, but his mouth wasn't quite fast enough to warn her.

Ezra lunged at Sabine, pushing her out of the way just as a meiloorun sized fist came crashing into the side of his head, sending him sprawling into another dark and dirty alley. As he was reaching for his blaster when the attack came, it too went careening out of his hand, skittering down the permacrete and out of his reach.

Sabine had been nearly knocked over herself, but Ezra's quick thinking had taken the brunt of the attack, and she quickly tucked and rolled out of the way, drawing both of her own blasters. She saw Ezra struggling to his feet as a large Trandoshan wrapped him in a bear hug and dragged him back to the ground.

Sabine took aim at the creature, but several blaster bolts impacting near her own head became a more immediate concern. She whirled around and saw two more bipedal aliens standing near the end of the alley, and the looked very familiar.

'The men from the bar' she thought as she took cover and returned fire.

Ezra might have puked from the rancid stench the reptilian gave off being so close to his face, if he could breath. The alien had both scaly arms wrapped around him and was actually trying to bite him as he fought to keep his head far enough away. Ezra concentrated on the alien's chest, drawing the Force into his mind and directing it back out, just as the alien opened its jaws. A surprised gasp and a sudden weight lifting off his chest told him the move had worked. The Trandoshan had sailed across the alley, smacking into the peramcrete wall with a sickening thud.

But apparently that wasn't enough to take him out. The green skinned creature rose slowly and let out a growl, preparing for another rush. Ezra quickly reached behind him for the holdout blaster Rex had given him, and sent 5 shots into the center of mass, leaving angry red and black holes glowing in the flesh and material of its flight suit. The alien let out a pained shriek which turned into a gurgle as its life left it.

More blaster shots, this time from the other end of the alley, caused Ezra to forget about his victory. He dashed over to where Sabine was crouching behind a refuse container, using the Force to draw his forgotten DL-44 back into his hand.

"We're surrounded!" Sabine shouted at him between shots. The four men from the bar had flanked them and were now advancing from both sides, bounding and using cover like well trained pros, never giving Ezra or Sabine a chance to break cover.

"Not for long" Ezra said as he put his hand back into his jacket. He had a bone to pick with the man who had attacked Sabine, and it was time to settle the score.

"Ezra no! We can't let them know you're a Jedi!" She rebuked him. "Use your grenades on your side and we'll break out on mine!"

Ezra understood what she was going for, and instead of his saber, drew two of the small stun grenades from his pocket. Next to him, Sabine was doing the same.

"Now!" she shouted, and both teens tossed their weapons in unison, in opposite directions. 4 sharp cracks of energy resounded in the tight alley and the blaster fire stopped. Sabine darted her head around the corner to see two crumpled bodies on the ground, now only a dozen paces away. They had been close. Too close.

Rising to her feet and not even waiting for Ezra, she made a break for the end of the alley. Ezra was right behind her and soon the two were bursting onto the main street and running as fast as they could. More blaster fire chased them out of the alley as they ran.

"I thought they lasted longer than that!" Ezra shouted to Sabine, dodging past more droids and people as they escaped down the street.

Sabine just looked at him but didn't answer; now wasn't exactly the time for an after-action report, given that it wasn't yet after action.

"Here! Follow me!" Ezra said, grabbing her hand and nearly pulling her off her feet as he changed directions on a dime, running down yet another alley. Now that they were out of sight, he could take advantage of his full abilities.

Ezra heard shouts from nearby and knew some of the attackers were back on their feet and closing in for a second time.

Without warning, Ezra pulled Sabine into his arms, pulling her up so that he held her in both hands. Channeling more of his will into the Force, he leapt straight up, landing on the roof of a lower building 30 meters above them.

Setting her back down, they crouched and hid behind a ventilation intake on the roof, listening for any sign of their pursuers below.

Several tense seconds passed and while they heard angry voices below, searching for the two teens but finding nothing. Ezra's hand found Sabine's while they waited and the comfort of the touch helped ease the tension from the sudden battle.

"I can't hear them anymore, I think they're gone" Sabine whispered.

"I can't sense them either, I think we're in the clear" he responded

"Let's give it a few more minutes to be sure" she told him, taking off her helmet and sitting down against the intake.

Ezra joined her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, neither speaking for several moments while their breath returned to normal.

"I didn't know you could jump that high" Sabine joked quietly, easing the mood.

"Well Kanan's a good teacher. I wasn't sure I could make it holding you" he told her, his fingers finding their way to her hair and teasing it gently. He must have wanted to reach out and play with her hair a million times over the past few years, but he could never bring himself to do more than putting his hand on the back of her chair in the Ghost.

Sabine punched him lightly

"What are you saying, that I'm fat?" she laughed, her own hand now running along his thigh. Just in the same spot the mysterious woman had done only moments ago.

"Shut up, you know what I mean" he told her playfully.

A few more moments passed and the couple sat in silence, their minds retracing the events of the past hour.

"So, was all this worth it?" She asked.

"Definitely" Ezra said deeply, leaning over for a kiss.

Sabine pushed him back and gave him her 'not now' look.

"I meant the mission Loth-rat. Did you get what we came here for?"

"Oh yeah, that" Ezra said with an embarrassed grin.

"I think she's the real thing. I don't know what all this was about, but if it was a setup, they would have sent bucketheads, not those guys. And she gave me this" he told her, pulling out the chip and presenting it to her.

"That all she gave you?" Sabine said with a twinkle in her eye. She had seen part Ezra's interaction with the woman, and knew enough to see when someone was putting the moves on.

"Umm..welll she might have…"

"I'm kidding Ezra. You don't need to explain anything to me" She told him with a small smile, gripping his hand tighter.

Wanting to change the subject anyways, Ezra asked "So those guys. One of them knew who you are." It wasn't a question, but Sabine knew it still needed to be said.

"I've never met them before. That guy who groped me said he was a bounty hunter. We've both got prices on our heads. Maybe he recognized me and wanted to settle the score"

"Yeah, maybe…" Ezra said with uncertainty.

"I think we should get off this planet while we can. We can figure all this out later. This chip doesn't seem to have a tracking device, and I can't pick up one on you or me either" Sabine said. She hand been running some sort of scanner over the chip and around their bodies while they chatted, and it didn't appear like they were being tracked.

"Yes ma'am" Ezra said, rising to his feet and pulling her up with him.

The two walked to the edge of the building and peered down to the street below. It was mostly deserted as the clubs were still packed and the normal groups of drunks going home or amorous couples heading elsewhere to continue the party had not yet flooded the street.

"Not here" Sabine said "Let's get down a few blocks away to stay out of sight"

"Maybe they should have put you in charge" Ezra told her with a sly grin.

"Maybe they should have" she said, putting her helmet back on. "You'll have to carry me again. I don't have my jetpack, and it's a long way down".

"I was hoping you'd say that" Ezra said, still smiling.

"Of course you were" she huffed, pretending to be put off, but jumping up into his arms anyways and pulling close to him.

"I could get used to this" She purred to him as he jumped over the gap between buildings and onto the next one. He repeated the process several more times, never setting her down as he ran across the rooftops and over the alleys, then finally down to the street below several blocks away.

Creeping out of the last alley, blasters in hand, the pair looked around for any sign of trouble. Seeing none, they holstered their weapons and tried to appear like two more young teens enjoying a night out, their armor and weapons notwithstanding.

The made their way to another lift and soon were hurtling up the side of a mega-scraper to the more civilized upper levels.

"This is the last time I'm letting you pick where we go on a date" Sabine joked as the friendly lights and giant advertisements of the upper levels came into view. Speeder cars and droids were flying to and fro in front of the clear lift car and both could feel the apprehension and unease draining away as they left the scene of their crimes.

"So there's gonna be another date?" Ezra said cockily, leaning up against the clear wall and looking at Sabine.

"Maybe, if I think you've earned it" she said, taking her helmet off and walking over to give him one small kiss.

Ezra of course tried to pull her in for more, but she retreated with a smirk.

"Not here. We're still not done working yet"

"Fine, but remember, once we're back on my ship, I'm calling the shots" He retorted.

"That a promise?" She said wickedly, putting her helmet back on once again as the lift came to a halt and the doors opened.

"Sabine Wren! Throw out your weapons and come out with your hands up!" an angry and now all too familiar voice sounded from outside the lift car.

"Kriff" the two said in unison as they drew their weapons and prepared to launch into battle once again.

A/N: I know I know, a cliffhanger. I couldn't resist myself. We're alllllmost to the end. It's been a blast writing this, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Reviews are always welcome :)


	12. Chapter 12 - Departure

"Sabine Wren! This is your last warning! Throw out your weapons and give up" the voice bellowed a second time.

Sabine and Ezra were pressed against the side of the lift car, trying to present as small of a target as possible.

"Who the hell are these guys?!" Ezra shouted as he fumbled for his blaster, noting Sabine's smooth and flawless draw from her own holsters.

"I have no kriffing clue!" Sabine bit back sharply.

If Ezra had another comment ready, he quickly forgot it as a small silver sphere bounced into the lift car. Without a word Ezra caught it with the Force and sent it right back where it came from.

Several seconds later a loud explosion signaled that whoever these people were, the time for taking prisoners alive had come and gone. They were out for blood and had no qualms killing the couple where they stood.

"Well we can't stay here" Ezra told her, firing several shots out the door blindly.

"I know. Cover me."

"On it" Ezra replied, continuing to lay down cover fire, and trying to use the Force to sense where the enemies were. From the brief glimpse he'd had of the area before they took cover, he knew they were facing a long open-air platform that spanned the space between two buildings, with several stacks of crates and maintenance equipment spread over the area. The enemy's fire seemed like it was coming from behind several of the stacks, and just beyond that was a long ramp leading right up to their destination. The landing pads.

While Ezra fired, Sabine tore off the small cover over the maintenance access panel and began working her techo-magic on the machinery inside. After what felt like hours, the lift door screeched nearly closed, grinding to a halt and leaving a thin vertical gap between the two door panels. Smoke, shouting, and the reports of blasters still filtered through the slender gap.

"That's as far as it's going" Sabine told him. "That grenade must have damaged it."

"Can we move to another level?" Ezra asked impatiently, letting the tension get the best of him in the moment.

"Nope" Sabine told him bluntly while standing up and stowing her terminal.

"Well we still need a way out of here" Ezra said, no longer shouting, but still with his voice raised due to the sounds from outside the lift.

"Obviously. Any ideas?" Sabine said, peaking through the gap and quickly ducking back before a red energy bolt managed to slip through and impact against the clear back wall, leaving a sizzling hole.

"Yeah, I've got one" Ezra said, once again reaching for his lightsaber under his jacket, his eyes glinting with cold resolve.

Sabine gave him an uncertain look. A shootout between some thugs wouldn't even make the local Holonet. News of a Jedi on Denon on the other hand might compromise the mission and the whole reason why they were here. Ezra's green blade would be a beacon for every Imperial in the sector to come pick through the rubble and analyze every detail of what happened. One could only guess what clues they might learn, but none of them lead to positive outcomes for the Rebellion. If there was even one survivor or witness to the event, it could be all over.

"Ezra…" Sabine said, her voice sounding gentle despite the volume and hectic activity surrounding them. As she spoke, she reached out and grasped his arm, but not the one reaching for the saber. She knew the risks and so did he. And he could sense her trust in him through the light touch. She wouldn't protest this time, though she clearly did not think it was a good idea.

Ezra locked eyes with her and after a moment simply said "You're right", not needing to hear the argument from her lips to know what she might have said.

His hand retreated from his jacket and fell towards his now reholstered blaster, drawing it again.

"How many grenades do you have left?" Ezra asked her

"One smoke and two detonators. That's it" Sabine responded

"Put them on the ground and get ready to open the door. We're doing this the Mandalorian way"

It was Sabine's turn to return his gaze, and a wicked smile played across her face as she unclipped the small spheres from her bandolier and set them on the ground.

"I love it when you talk to me like that" she quipped, unable to resist one last play of words, which it may very well end up being.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Ready." he answered.

The doors screeched open, the noise of battle swelled, and the two lovers rose to meet it.

Ezra concentrated and wrapped the three grenades with invisible energy, propelling them out onto the platform with ease, all three detonating in short succession.

The duo's three blasters quickly joined the fight, and soon Ezra and Sabine were charging through the door under the cover of the smoke, trying to take advantage of what little distraction the explosions might have granted them.

The distraction didn't last long, and soon both teens were hunkered behind one of the crates, crackling energy bolts zipping past just inches over their heads. They had only made it a few meters before the return fire had stopped them in their tracks.

"Now what?" Ezra shouted

Sabine turned her helmeted face towards him, and he could almost imagine the dazzling grin that she must have been wearing behind the mask.

Sabine abruptly stood up and began laying down heavy fire straight ahead, and pulling all of the enemy fire right towards her.

"Don't just stand there! Move up!" she scolded him, never taking her eyes from down range.

"You're all crazy!" Ezra shouted back, but he was already moving, crouched and shuffling as fast as he could around the edge of the crates and up towards the next stack ten meters ahead of them.

"Now cover me!" Sabine shouted up to him, the need to take charge in this straight up close-quarters brawl falling on her well trained shoulders.

Ezra looked back at the woman of his dreams, still standing tall under the barrage of fire, and his heart swelled with admiration. He had no idea what he had done to finally earn her affection, but he knew in this moment he would have to keep earning it every day forward. Not because she would expect him to, but because he would demand no less from himself.

Ezra gave her one last look and drew his eyes forward, rising to his full stature and letting loose with his own shots from his heavy blaster. While not as refined or as quick as Sabine's WESTARs, his own BlasTech got the job done. The enemy was in much the same position as they, cowering behind the rows of crates and taking whatever shots they could while remaining concealed. It made for less accurate fire, but these bounty hunters were clearly better shots than the average Imperial conscript, and several blasts had come a little too close for comfort. And now it was Ezra's turn to be the tempting target.

Sabine dashed forward, passing Ezra as she leapfrogged his position, each using the covering fire of the other to advance towards the ramp at the end of the platform, and their salvation.

But they had still yet to down even one of the enemy, and each bound was bringing them closer, narrowing the gap and making the shots of both sides that much nearer to the mark. It was now down to fate to see who would land the first lethal blow.

"Set!" Ezra shouted back to her, copying the voice commands she had been giving him, signaling that it was her turn to move forward once again.

Sabine rose to a high crouch and began another mad dash towards the next stack, only one more set between them and their foes. She had only moved a few meters before she felt a hard impact on her right shin.

"Kriff!" she yelped in frustration, more from the annoyance than any pain. The ancient but still tough Beskar alloy performed admirably, dampening the worst of the lucky shot, but still causing her to stumble.

Ezra turned to hear her shout just in time to see her fall to her knee. It gave him a front row seat to witness 3 more deadly shots strike the girl, two to the chest, one to the head.

* * *

Ezra's world froze. Kanan had told him about moments like this. When the Force takes a more proactive role in a Jedi's life. The Force is said to both control your actions and obey your commands. Ezra learned that it was not so much a power to be wielded by the Jedi, but a partnership between the Jedi and something greater than any one person. In that partnership, the Force often suggested, but occasionally, it insisted.

During the fight with the Grand Inquisitor Kanan had experienced such a moment. Thinking Ezra had been killed, their foe snatching the boy who had been quickly become like a son to Kanan and sending him into the oblivion of death, Kanan felt the Force opening his eyes and giving him a bigger glimpse of the world as it truly was. In that moment, Kanan had said he felt no anguish, no fear, no regrets or inadequacy. Just a moment of pure peace. What had occurred was exactly what needed to occur, and so was what came next. It was in that moment that the Padawan turned drunkard turned part-time-Jedi finally defeated the leader of the Inquisitorius, trained by Lord Vader himself. The Force had decided the winner of that battle, and it had only to play out the script to its ultimate end.

Ezra had never really understood what Kanan told him about that day. He believed it was possible, but that such things were reserved for those more disciplined, more experienced, better trained. A Jedi Knight of the old Order like Kanan Jarrus, sure. But Ezra Bridger? The boy who had trouble blocking juice boxes being thrown by an ornery astromech? Not likely.

But it was more likely that he could have imagined. Standing there on the platform, watching the woman he loved fall to a torrent of blaster fire, his eyes were opened and the Force began to tell him exactly what would come next.

It started deep within his chest, like the feeling he got sometimes when he fell asleep in the gunner turret of the Ghost and could feel the vibrations of the ship humming through his core, making his bones seem to sing. A deep throb of energy began radiating out from inside him, heightening his senses, speeding his perceptions, making the world around him seem to slow to a sluggish crawl. He felt the energy crackle in his fingertips, and he was acutely aware of every groove and line in the hilt of his lightsaber. He could feel the texture of the leather in his gloves, the weight of his gunbelt on his hips. He could hear sirens in the distance, the chirps and thrums of droids and speeders far above him.

And life. He could feel so much _life_. If he could stop to reflect on the experience, the best way he might describe the sensation would be that of a waking mediation. The Force being totally open to him, but not in the calm, quiet and unmoving moments when he cleared his own mind and willed it to happen, but in a way that he was both aware of everything, and could act on it at the same time.

Sabine. She was alive. He didn't know how he knew, but he could feel her in front of him, her aura in the Force as hot and strong as the exhaust from a starship. His own head and chest tickled with slight pain, the Force showing him the the result of the well-placed shots. He didn't even have to think about it happening. He thought of her, so he was _aware_ of her.

Other life forms leapt out at him as well. Four of them, behind him and closing, but at a bantha's pace. These sensations were not nearly as strong as Sabine's, but what they lacked in intensity, they more than made up for in hatred and wrath. He felt their lust; for money, power, pain. He felt their anger, at him and his partner's defiance. And he knew, almost as if he was feeling it himself, that only one group would make it out of this battle alive.

When the fight began down in the alley, neither Ezra or Sabine had any desire to kill their foes, only to thwart them. Even the Trandoshan who was still now lying dead in that alley, Ezra did not want to end his life. It was just that his life was in the way of what needed to happen. As they battled their way through the stacks on the platform, their goal was again to escape. If it could be done without the loss of life, so be it.

And Ezra still had no desire to kill. He was aware on some level that he might be expected to hate them, for trying to kill him and worse yet, Sabine. It would be understood by most if he returned their hatred and rage with fury of his own. They tried to kill Sabine and he wanted revenge. It would only be natural.

But he didn't. He didn't hate them. He didn't want to kill them. He pitied them. He wished their lives had lead them in other directions, away from this moment. Revenge was not the Jedi way, and Ezra Bridger _was_ a Jedi.

But it wouldn't save them. As Kanan had before him, Ezra simply acted. He followed the script, written by the Force itself, and which would come to the preordained end, one way or another.

The emerald blade flared in his hand, only now making Ezra aware that he had already pulled it from concealment. With the grace of an acrobat, he performed the very same backflip he had done in the hanger back on Yavin. But this time, it was not to play a friendly trick on his now girlfriend, it was to save her.

The first to fall was the Shorak. The very same that Sabine had nearly killed herself. He had been the closest to them in the fight, and the Force had singled him out as the first to go. Ezra's saber cut cleanly through him, from his right shoulder to his left hip. Only the sound of a body and blaster falling to the deck plating marked his end.

New sensations poured into him. Shock, fear, and more anger. They washed around him like waves on a beach, making him aware, but falling away just as they came. Next to die was a human male, a hulking mass of muscle, faced twisted into an evil glower. His blaster was up and aimed directly at Ezra's chest. Only 5 meters away, he couldn't miss. Two crimson bolts came towards him, and were sent back where they came. The human screamed and fell limp.

The next was off to Ezra's side, charging at him arms spread, meaning to take him down in a straight tackle. Ezra sidestepped effortlessly, and the man toppled over the guardrail into the chasm below.

Without thinking, Ezra whirled around and extended his free arm, then pushed. A single explosion at the end of the platform indicated the end to the fight. A thermal detonator, only seconds left after being cooked off by the last enemy had been flung straight towards Ezra. It hung in the air for the briefest instant, then returned to the sender, ending his life in a violet sticky mess.

* * *

The rumble of the detonation echoed through the empty air, fading into the distance. Ezra stood, eyes closed, saber held aloft in a perfect Form III flourish, ready to deflect any more blaster fire. But the fight was over. He felt the Force leave him as quickly as it came, returning to the gentle buzz in the back of his mind that he had long grown accustomed to.

Slowly his eyes opened, and his thoughts returned to the present.

'Sabine'

Ezra extinguished the blade and swiftly turned, his own personal fears which the Force had driven from him flooding back into his forethought.

"Sabine!" he shouted, running back to where she had fallen.

Sabine staggered to her feet, still shaken by what had just happened. Not from the blaster shots, from which her armor had once again spared her the worst. No, the cause for her astonishment had been Ezra.

She had seen him fight before, many times. Hell, she'd been right there in the thick of it with him more times than she could count, including twice this very day. But what she just witnessed simply mesmerized her. It had only taken a few seconds from start to finish. The shots, her fall, then looking up to see Ezra moving faster than her eyes could follow, dispatching the enemy one by one in quick succession.

Fighting alongside one, then two, Jedi for several years had prepared her to accept some pretty astonishing feats of martial prowess. And she knew that even on her off days she was no slouch herself. She was far too modest to admit that she was in fact one of the best Mandalorian warriors of her age, and given the time, she could have taken these four hired criminals without breaking a sweat. That fact was beyond question.

But Ezra…she had no words to describe it.

"Sabine!" she heard again, seeing the blue haired man rush to her side, and feeling his strong grip on her arm.

"I'm fine Ezra."

"Are you sure? I saw you. What they did…I…" his words trailed off as she stood tall and removed her scorched helmet.

"So much for the new paint job" she grimaced, looking down at the helm and wincing at the half melted blast mark in the visor.

"Seriously? That's what your worried about? Your paint job?" Ezra stammered, looking aghast at how casually she brushed off the fight.

"Hi. Sabine Wren. I'm your girlfriend. Nice to meet you" Sabine deadpanned, giving him an exhausted look.

"Shut up. You know what I mean" Ezra said, still fussing over her pock-marked armor.

"Ezra, as sweet as your concern is, we really need to get the kark out of here. I saw that little display with your lightsaber. We can talk about that later. Let's get to the ship. This place is about to become way too popular for my tastes".

"Right." Ezra said, taking her comments in stride.

The pair soon found themselves at the top of the ramp, looking over the wide array of landing platforms ahead of them.

"Wait. Watch my back. And try not to make a big show of it this time" she snipped at him, pausing next to a security kiosk and once again unfolding her data terminal.

"Geez" Ezra grumbled. "And here I thought I was saving you"

Sabine stood back up, turned to face him, and quickly pulled him into a deep but quick kiss.

"I never said I didn't appreciate it" she whispered huskily into his ear, ending with a quick nip at his ear lobe.

"Now shut up and watch my back while I clean up your mess. Again". She told him curtly, returning to the security terminal.

"Yes dear" Ezra said, trying to sound gruff but still coming down from the high her kisses were already seeming to give him every time she graced him with one.

Several tense minutes passed, and the sounds of sirens grew closer. Ezra could see a few heads peeking out of the doorways to the various shipping offices and taxi terminals in the outer ring, no doubt frightened but curious at the recent scuffle.

"Wrap it up Sabine, we're starting to draw a crowd" Ezra said nervously over his shoulder.

"You rush a miracle worker you get lousy miracles" Sabine replied testily, delicate fingers still fluttering over the controls.

Sabine stood, quickly stowing her terminal and slipping her helmet back on, then moving away towards the landing platform.

"There. It's done. You know, sometimes I think you only keep me around to wipe security recordings" she told him, falling into a light jog.

"That and you have a nice ass" Ezra said, catching up next to her just in time to get a swift elbow to the gut.

Soon the pair slowed to a casual walk and approached their ship. A grey protocol droid was standing outside, seeming to be waiting for them.

"Greetings citizen. I am K9-6S. This area is currently under security lockdown. Please report to the dockmaster office for.."

The droid's eyes went dark as it slumped forward into a heap on the ground.

"They really should stop putting the deactivation switch on the back like that" Sabine said flippantly while Ezra lowered the ramp with his wrist control.

"You can send whoever makes them a note. Let's get out of here" Ezra said, bending at the waist and giving her a mock bow as he let her ascend ahead of him.

"Don't have to tell me twice."

* * *

Sabine let her helmet clatter to the floor as she collapsed into the pilot's seat. It never occurred to either of them that she naturally took that station while Ezra took the copilot's chair. It just felt right for the both of them.

"What a miserable day" she groaned, stretching her arms above her in a deep yawn. Shimmering stars were once again zipping past their windows as they took a circuitous route back home.

"Not all of it" Ezra corrected her, settling back into his own seat and returning her yawn.

"No, not all of it" Sabine said lazily, eyes still closed. "Go get me a caf?" she asked sweetly, testing the waters a bit.

Ezra paused, his own arms only halfway folded behind his head. Giving her a sidelong glance and hesitating for only a moment, her sighed and returned to his feet.

"As you wish" he said, smiling.

"Mmmmm now I know why Hera let Kanan on board" she half moaned, looking like she was melting into the chair.

Ezra walked through the rear door and into the small living space, pulling some mugs and instant-heating caf packs from a wall cupboard.

Ezra set the items down on the counter and gripped the edges, closing his eyes tightly and taking several deep breaths. He didn't want to show it in front of Sabine, but the events of the day rattled him more than he let on. Going from a normal mission, to an impromptu date, to danger, back to the mission, and finally back to danger, had thrown his emotions for a loop, and the adrenaline rush was still wreaking havoc on his nerves. And then there was whatever happened with the Force. He couldn't even begin to know how he was supposed to feel about that. It would be something he would need to discuss with Kanan as soon as he found the chance. He also knew that at some point he would need to meditate to clear his mind and start processing his thoughts. There was still paint on board, so he knew Sabine would have no problem clearing hers in her own way.

The door hissed open and he felt himself being spun around. Sabine launched herself into his arms and began savagely kissing his neck while wrapping her arms around him.

"What..about…your caf" Ezra stupidly mumbled between kisses. Cut him some slack, he was new at all this.

"Not thirsty" Sabine growled into his ear. Clearly she had other methods to work through her own adrenaline rush in mind.

Sabine had once again removed her armor plating and was clad in only her slinky black body glove, the contours of her body standing out strikingly in glorious detail. Sabine pushed Ezra into the counter top, shaking the still hot mugs of caf, and spilling a few drops on the surface. Neither gave a damn about the mess.

Ezra quickly got over his surprise and began returning her affections in earnest, reaching around to grab her by the butt and lift her into his arms. Just as before, her legs found their way around his body like they had always been meant to be there.

Soon Sabine was sitting on the counter, and Ezra's mouth was tracing a most pleasant path down her jawline, around the smooth skin of her neck, down to her collarbone, and threatening to go even further. Sabine had no idea why she had denied herself such pleasures her whole life, but she knew it would be very easy to get used to this.

But a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, one she had stubbornly pushed aside when she decided to follow him out of the cockpit, fought for control of her actions.

'I really shouldn't do this'

'But it feels so good…'

'You can't. Not yet. It's not time'

'Just let yourself have this. No one can stop you'

'No one but yourself'

"Ezra..." she said finally.

Ezra's hands were exploring the slim lines of her body suit, finding the occasional armor attachment point, ' _interesting_ ', as well as the seams to remove the suit entirely…' _very interesting_ '…

"Ezra.." Sabine said again, a little louder, grinding her teeth at her damn Mandalorian honor.

"Hmmm" Ezra hummed absentmindedly, barely registering she was speaking.

"Wait. We can't" she said

'Damn it!' her body protested.

Sabine mustered up whatever shred of willpower she had left for one final push, and reached for his hands, stopping them dead in their tracks.

"Ezra, I'm sorry. Not yet"

Ezra immediately stopped and looked up at her, breathing hard, his face showing that a similar battle was being waged in his own mind, over the same issue. He wanted her as much as she wanted him, maybe more. But she had told him to stop. Ezra slowly pulled his hands reluctantly from her thighs and placed them in her palms, content to wait for her to make the next move.

"This is all my fault." Sabine said through heavy breaths, hands trembling slightly in his and beads of perspiration forming on her brow. "I started this, and I shouldn't have".

Ezra must have looked horrified, not at her, but at himself, wrongly thinking that he had pushed her into this and that he was somehow to blame.

Sabine hurriedly continued, knowing she needed to alleviate his fears.

"It's not you, it's me" she said, immediately giving herself a mental smack for such a terrible line. "What I mean to say, is that I want this. I really do. But we just can't, not right now. I can explain later, but right now, we need to take a break" she finished, noting that he was pulling away from her, already giving her the space she needed.

Sabine clumsily scooted off the counter and stood on shaking legs.

"This ship has a shower right? Like a real water shower?" she asked him, already knowing what she needed to do.

"Ummm yeah" Ezra said, his hormone saturated brain trying to remember how to speak Basic. "It's across the hall"

"Alright. Here's the plan. I'm going to go take a shower. Alone. Then you're going to take one and meet me back in here when you're done. Got it?"

Ezra was still trying to figure out what the hell had just happened, but he numbly nodded his assent anyways.

"Good. Trust me, this isn't bad." She told him confidently, reaching up to give him one more full kiss to reassure him. "Go meditate in the cockpit or something, I'll let you know when I'm out and you can take yours".

Before he could even respond, she was out the door, her small day pack in her hands.

"What the hell was that?" Ezra said aloud, dumbfounded and still too shocked to move.

* * *

After a suspiciously long shower that threatened to drain the small craft's liquid H20 tanks in one sitting, Sabine finally commed him.

"Alright, I'm out. Hurry up and don't keep me waiting" her singsong voice sounded from the cockpit speakers.

"Don't keep _you_ waiting?" Ezra grumbled, but no longer with any bite of shock or disappointment. He had used the time well, and truth be told, her long shower had been more of a help than he would have guessed. Ezra had _a lot_ of emotions to vent into the Force, and the meditation had done wonders for his mental clarity.

He checked the readout on the autopilot and saw that they had a little over 13 standard hours before they would be back at Yavin. Their return course had them crisscrossing through minor hyperspace lanes, drifting in void space for several random periods, and even slipping near a nebula to hide their hyperspace signature. Chopper of course could have pulled it off much more efficiently, but it was just the two of them right now, and they had to make do.

Ten minutes later Ezra was in the odd position of having to buzz the door of his own cabin, on his own ship. The door whisked open and he found the lights had been dimmed to a soft glow, with Sabine buried under a nest of blankets in the single bed. Ezra couldn't even remember having brought any blankets at all, much less enough to outfit a platoon barracks.

Ezra stepped into the room and heard the door close behind him, leaving him standing in a pair of loose workout pants and a very fashionable bright orange T-shirt.

"Umm..hi" he said tentatively.

"Hey" Sabine's quiet voice came from the heap of soft cloth. "Join me?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ezra asked, not forgetting what had just happened the last time they were both in this room.

"Yes. I'm sure" She told him, sitting up and beckoning him. Sabine's hair was still damp and it hung loosely around her face, framing her slender features and drawing his eyes instantly to hers.

"C'mon, I don't bite" she said in a placating tone that hid her own uncertainty.

"Yes you do" Ezra laughed, finally breaking the awkward tension and setting them both at ease. This was Sabine, his best friend, partner, and now girlfriend. Everything would be fine.

Ezra walked across the room, draping his towel over a chair and climbed into bed next to her, allowing her to slide into his arms while she drew a blanket across their legs.

"Have a good shower?" Ezra asked, not really knowing where to begin and figuring small talk was better than nothing.

"It was relaxing" Sabine said cryptically. She had used the time to clear her own head as well, though in a much more interesting way than she was willing to tell him at the moment.

"You were in there for quite a while" he teased, his thumb making light circular motions across the back of her hand.

"Shush" Sabine said, swatting his arm lightly. "How much longer til Yavin?"

"A little over half a day" he said, content with just lying next to her, warm and safe.

Ezra's other arm sneaked under the covers and began to roam. She may have put the brakes on anything overly carnal, but he didn't think she'd mind if he did a bit of exploring. When his hand touched her leg he found not the long baggy pajama pants that he had seen her wearing once or twice on the Ghost, but smooth bare skin. His heart stuttered as he let his hand move slowly up her thigh, finally touching a thin strip of material, far higher up her leg than he was used to. Sabine was clothed, but only in the most technical sense.

The realization triggered a memory, of glimpsing colorful lines on her body that night on the ghost. He knew at the time it wouldn't be right to pry, but with all that had happened, he figured it might be ok to ask.

"Sabine?" he hesitatingly inquired. "A few nights ago, when we were having dinner. I thought I might have seen that you had tattoos…?"

"You did" Sabine replied, not even opening her eyes. Ezra was curious about the sudden mood change that seemed to have overtaken her not only today, but this whole week. It was like a door into a previously unknown room of her personality had not only been revealed, but opened for him. He was learning things about her he never would have guessed in a million years. And so far, he liked every bit.

"Do you think…I could see them?" He asked, pushing his luck.

This time Sabine did open her eyes, long enough to crook her eyebrow and give him a smirk.

"I guess you'll have to eventually" she said, intimating that there might yet be other doors that would be opened in time.

Sabine reached and drew the heavy blanket off their conjoined lap, revealing a fascinating amount of lightly tanned skin. Ezra could see now that she was wearing a pair of very short and very tight compression shorts, and a top that was equally revealing and form-fitting. He couldn't count the number of times he'd dreamed about what she might look like under her armor, but none of his visions even came close to the real thing.

Sabine looked up to see his mouth slightly agape and couldn't help but smile. She might not put much thought into appearing sexy or alluring, but knowing that he found the sight appealing still pleased her.

Ezra for his part, having eventually peeled his eyes away from her gentle curves, finally noticed the iridescent patterns of ink that made their way up her body, disappearing under her immodest clothing in a manner that tickled his imagination.

"Wow…" was the only word his brain managed to piece together, drawing a delighted laugh from Sabine.

"I take it you approve?" she asked him, pulling the blanket back down.

Thinking fast, Ezra slyly said "I'm not sure, I think I might need a second look".

"Uh huh, maybe if you're lucky" she said, drawing the covers close and sinking into his lap even further.

Ezra couldn't help be disappointed, but it was worth a shot.

"Don't get too attached to them" she said, "they're not permanent".

"Why am I not surprised?" Ezra laughed

"Because you know me" she told him, giving him a peck on the cheek, which he eagerly returned by planting a long sensuous kiss on her neck. If this was the sort of life girls with boyfriends had, she was already kicking herself for putting it off so long.

Sabine had spent too many years spend depriving herself of the joys of intimacy, little pleasures like holding hands, enjoying the closeness of physical contact with someone she cared about. She never knew how Ketsu could be so…liberal with her affections. Despite the numerous attempts, and boy were they plentiful, by the roguish pilots and mercenaries they encountered while out on jobs, to get into her pants, Sabine never found herself able to go through with it. Even on nights when she really wanted to, something always stopped her. One minute she was enjoying the playful flirting and attention from the latest square jawed and cocky local, and the next minute she wanted nothing more to return to the ship and be by herself. Most of the time she did just that, at least when the cabin she shared with Ketsu wasn't occupied by her friend and someone else. A big part of it was her Mandalorian heritage and honor, but the simple fact was that the idea of it all just reviled her.

But with Ezra, that moment of hesitation never came. She found herself enjoying his touch, the gentle yet rough sensation of his hands on her delicate skin, waiting for the moment when her brain told her to stop and get away from him. But it didn't happen. She only wanted more. It was startling how much more she wanted. Even now she was getting lightheaded from the pleasure he was giving her simply by holding her and kissing her neck. But it was equally true that there were still lines they had yet to cross, and would not cross until a few more serious matters were settled.

"Ezra…" she said in between kisses. "Wait…"

Ezra, like the gentleman he always was, immediately stopped his caresses and simply did what she said. He almost made a comment about how this was becoming a routine for her, but looking into her eyes he could tell that it was not the time for those sorts of jokes. She clearly still had something to say, and by her furrowed brow, it had to be important. Leaning into her so their foreheads were touching, the couple sat catching their breath for several moments before Sabine looked up.

Ezra's blue eyes held a myriad of thoughts and feelings she could read easily, partly because she was feeling many of them herself. Trepidation at what she might say next, concern that he was moving too fast for her, worry that she was having second thoughts already and that his dream of many years would be snatched away as quickly as it began. But there was patience, and concern, and love too. No matter what Ezra may have wanted, above all of it he wanted Sabine to be happy. And he knew she wouldn't be if she felt she had been rushed or forced into anything. So he waited, content with still having her in his lap.

"We need to talk" she said finally, not getting up but not allowing herself to be distracted from the things she needed to say.

"I know" Ezra said hesitantly. The past day had added several items to the already long list of things the pair needed to figure out together.

Sabine narrowed her eyes and looked at him, giving herself one last chance to forestall spoiling the moment. It would be so easy to avoid everything again, just let herself fall back into his arms and spend the rest of the voyage making up for lost time the old fashioned way.

But the last time she and Ezra had danced around an issue instead of trusting each other, a simple sparring match had come to very real, if brief, blows. And with all that had developed between them, largely in part due to _her_ decision to kiss him, she just couldn't take the coward's way out and put it off.

Sabine's mouth began to open as words formed on her lips, but Ezra beat her to the punch. Maybe he owed her a shock in return for their first kiss, or maybe his fat mouth was getting ahead of him, again. But whatever the reason, this time she was glad.

"You have to go back home and you don't know how to tell me" Ezra said simply, holding her gaze and reviving the unresolved point of conflict that had disrupted their 'friendly' training earlier that week.

Sabine was glad he had gotten straight to the point, but it didn't help the situation any. Ok, so the problem is on the table. But she was no closer to dealing with it than she was yesterday, last week, or even the first night on Yavin. The looming difficulty of her father's fate had clouded most of her waking thoughts and all of her dreams since she had returned.

"That's an easy fix" Ezra said, almost allowing himself to enjoy Sabine Wren in a rare moment of dumbstruck silence, if the topic hadn't been so serious.

"You have to go back, and I'm coming with you" he finished confidently, then added with a tinge of uncertainty "If you want me to".

Sabine didn't know what to say. In one sentence he undercut one of her biggest worries, tossing it to the side like it was a mere annoyance. She had been fretting about her eventual return home since the day she got to Yavin, relishing in her reunion with her Spectral family, but always knowing in the back of her mind that it would have to end. Maybe not forever, but at some point, she would have to walk away from them again. Walking out on families was becoming a depressingly common occurrence in her life, and one that repetition did not make any easier. Her reckless abandon with Ezra this week may have given her some of the most wonderful moments in her young life, but she had to admit that it also added some very painful complications.

But here he was, filling in the blanks she could not fill herself. Stepping forward with a solution that must have seemed so easy and obvious to him, but hadn't even occurred to her.

"I…you would..if I want" Sabine stammered, realizing the implications of what he was saying. She had no idea how long her return to Mandalore would take. It might be a week, a year, or longer. She was going back to rescue her father and free her clan from Imperial oppression. She was honor bound to be in it for the long haul, and Ezra was offering to be bound in the same manner.

Ezra took her shock as an opening to explain further. He had the upper hand in this conversation, for once, and he intended to use it.

"Before you say anything else. I've got a few things I need to say too." Ezra began drawing away slightly so that he could look at her better, grasping both of her hands and bracing himself for what might be the most important speech of his life. A thousand possible things he might say crossed his mind in an instant. Romantic lines he had heard men say to their dates while they sat at cafes in Capital City, too distracted to notice Ezra lifting credit chips from their pockets. Cheesy lines of dialogue from the few holos he had managed to see at a local theater. Even a few key phrases he had picked up from Kanan when he and Hera thought no one could hear them.

But Ezra Bridger, among his many noble and admirable qualities, is a bit of a buffoon. So he just cut to the chase and said it.

"Sabine, I love you and wherever you go, I'm coming with you. I'm never leaving you again…I mean..if you'll have me"

"Ezra…" was the only response she could manage. What she had just heard was the most touching, if not the most romantic, thing she had ever heard. Professions of undying love, usually after too much drink, and from men she had never met before, were not exactly foreign to her. But never in her life had she ever believed them, or even wanted to. Until today. The confession was clumsy, awkward, simple, and honest; typical Ezra in every way. In short, it was perfect.

Sabine's arms were around him once again in an instant, almost crushing the air from his lungs with the ferocity of the embrace. She didn't know how to say anything that could match what he just told her, so her only choice was to show him.

Ezra felt Sabine shaking in his arms, and heard muffled gasps from under her violet hair. At first he thought she was crying, but when he pulled away he found she was laughing hysterically.

"Umm…wanna let me in on the joke?" Ezra asked, wondering if his spontaneous confession of love was really something she should be laughing at, and fearing he might have screwed it up.

"No..no.." Sabine said, between outbursts. "It's just.." she continued looking up at him, still unable to hold in her mirth.

"My mother is not going to like this" she finished, breaking into another fit of giggles and falling back onto the bed.

"Uggghhh" Ezra groaned, remembering the grim faced Countess of the Clan Wren, and how she had greeted him with drawn blasters more than once.

He fell into the bed next to her and put his hands over his eyes. The hits just kept coming.

"Well, what are we gonna do?" Ezra asked the now mostly silent girl

"Hell if I know. We'll figure something out. We always do" Sabine answered, rolling over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"But not right now. I'm exhausted" she sighed, falling back to his side.

"Isn't that what the caf was for?" Ezra asked.

In answer, Sabine's hand reached out and tapped the light control, plunging the room into darkness. So much for the caf.

* * *

The long forgotten and now cold mugs still rested on the counter when Ezra awoke many hours later. He blinked his eyes a few times trying to adjust to the darkness. Fumbling at the wall panel, he tried to bring the lights up slowly, but his tired fingers touched the wrong button, setting them to maximum and drawing a very displeased yelp from Sabine.

"Sorry!" he apologized quickly, resetting the control back to a soft dim glow. A word that sounded suspiciously like "Di'kut" came from beneath the pillow Sabine was hiding under.

"What time is it?" Sabine asked groggily, finally removing the pillow and lifting her head up. Ezra stifled a laugh as he took in her appearance. A tousled mess of purple hair covered half of her face, and the single visible eye looked bloodshot and weary.

"Not. A. Word" Sabine said menacingly, falling back into the bed and covering her face with the pillow once more.

"I wasn't gonna say anything." Ezra choked out, trying to sound nonchalant, but failing miserable amidst his laughter.

There was a long moment of silence and he just couldn't help adding "It's cute".

Sabine's arm shot out and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! C'mon I was giving you a compliment!" Ezra said, still laughing.

"Laugh it up Bridger. See where that gets you" she groused. "I'll take my caf now"

"As you wish" he said again, and got up to make even more caf for them both.

Remembering the previous day and what had happened shortly after she'd asked for the steamy drink, he blurted "Get you caf huh? Is that gonna be our code phrase for…" A pillow striking the back of his head shut him up before he dug his grave any deeper.

Ezra busied himself pouring the old stale mugs of liquid into the recycler and set a second set to begin heating. 30 seconds later he turned to find Sabine sitting up, hair straightened and cascading around her face in her customary style. Her eyes even looked better.

"Wait..how did you…?" Ezra asked, wondering how she seemed to have fixed herself in half a minute.

"Maybe someday you'll learn the answer to that, but not today" She said to him with a smirk. "Gimmee" she continued, holding her hands out and gesturing for a mug.

Ezra shook his head and brushed it off. He had accepted a long time ago that the mysteries of Sabine Wren would never be fully understood. He walked to the bed, pushed some blankets out of the way and sidled up next to her, handing her one of the steaming mugs.

"So.." he began to say, but Sabine only held up a finger and took a long drink from the cup, her eyes closed once again. She let out a deep breath and a smile formed on her lips while she set the mug down on a small retractable end table.

"Thanks. I needed that". She told him, pulling herself into his lap and laying her head on his chest.

"I thought you needed it earlier" he teased her, setting his own mug down, untouched.

"I needed something else earlier" she sighed, grabbing his arms and pulling them around her in a tight hug.

They sat in companionable silence for what could have been minutes, or hours. Neither was keeping track.

Ezra thought she might have fallen asleep, feeling the even rise and fall of her chest and hearing the smooth tempo of her breathing. But she was the first to finally break the silence.

"So. My mother." She said with a sigh.

"Yeah" was all Ezra had to offer. This was one topic where being a Jedi didn't just not help, it might actually hurt.

Sabine drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, deciding what Ezra needed to hear and what he didn't, for the time being anyways. If all went the way she hoped, he would end up knowing more about Mandalorian culture and traditions than he ever imagined.

"First, I need to know something" she told him, already as certain as she could be what his answer would be, but still needing to hear it from his own lips before she broached the topic.

"Anything" Ezra said

Sabine began, "What you said yesterday…about staying with me….forever..did.."

"Yes. I meant it. No I'm not changing my mind, no matter what you or your mother say. Forever Sabine, or as long as you'll have me" he said,cutting her off and already knowing what she was getting at. He tightened his grip around her hand to solidify the point and using the Force to allow some of his own confidence and assurance bleed through the touch.

"Thank you Ezra. I didn't doubt you, I just had to hear it. What I have to tell you has a lot to do with yesterday in fact, and how I was acting" she told him

"How you were acting? What do you mean? I didn't notice anything different" Ezra said, forcing a serious expression on his face, but not pulling it off.

Sabine elbowed him again. "Stop. I'm trying to be serious. I mean that..well…" she faltered, not really sure exactly how to say it.

' _Well if he can blurt things out like that, so can I'_

"The reason I stopped us from going any further yesterday is because Mandalorians only do that with people they're married to, or at least engaged." She finished, looking up at him for his reaction.

Ezra just grinned at her. "Yeah, and?"

"Yeah and?" Sabine repeated, almost getting exasperated at him before realizing he was having fun at her expense.

"If you're asking me to marry you, there are easier ways to do it Sabine" Ezra said, reaching up with his right hand to block the pillow Sabine was only now deciding to throw at him. Being a Jedi did have its uses.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" she shot at him, leaning over to tackle him, another pillow in her hand.

Ezra was ready for that too. Using the Force, he simply tore the pillow out of her hand and sent if flying across the room, while at the same time, reaching for her sides to hold her in place.

Maybe it was the bare skin to skin contact, or the fact that she was already giggling, but the touch of his hands to her ribs sent her doubling over, shrieking with laughter.

"Sabine Wren….are you…ticklish?" Ezra asked, his mouth open wide in realization, glee dancing in his eyes.

"No!" She screamed, still trying to break free, but she was almost crying from laughing so hard.

"You are…" Ezra stated, his right hand drifting up her side towards her armpit, while he held her down with his left.

"Stop it..please" Sabine croaked, now shaking from the tickling. Her previous attempt to fix her hair and red eyes went out the window and tears were streaming down her face.

Ezra had pity on her and relented, slowly pulling his hands away, leaving the girl keeled over and panting on the bed.

"I hate you" Sabine growled, not looking up at him.

"No you don't" Ezra replied matter-of-factly.

"Get out. I need to get dressed" she told him, rising to her knees and flipping her vibrant hair back in a move that dropped his jaw.

Sabine got to her feet and began pushing Ezra towards the door. He leaned in for one last kiss, which she rebuffed.

"No, you lost kissing privileges for the time being. You had your fun already. Out." She said, trying to look angry.

"You can't kick me out, this is my ship" he whined back still backpedaling toward the door.

"This is _our_ ship now, and yes I can. Because I just did". Sabine's finger jabbed the control and the door swished shut in his face. The last sound he heard was the door lock engaging.

' _Our ship…..'_

Despite the lack of a kiss, Ezra went to get dressed with a wide grin plastered on his face.

* * *

A long while later, Ezra heard the door to the cockpit open and soon after felt a light warm touch on his cheek before Sabine sat next to him. Once again, he had left the pilot's chair open for her.

"Took you long enough I see" he said

"Working real hard to get kissing privileges back I see" she retorted, working her own controls and bringing the holographic course map up on the central panel.

"15 minutes left til we're home" she concluded, dimming the display to look at the blue starfield.

"So what's the plan?" Ezra asked.

"Good question. Which plan? Kanan and Hera or my mother?"

"Umm yeah. Let's start with Kanan and Hera. Maybe it's best we keep this thing under wraps from the other one until we think of something" he suggested

"You know that means nothing more than kissing until we do break it to her and take the plunge, right? And that's assuming I ever let you kiss me again" Sabine told him sarcastically.

"I've been waiting 4 years to even get that far. I think I can wait a little longer for anything else. You're worth it" Ezra said, being serious for a moment.

Sabine turned and looked at him, the got up and walked over to where he sat.

"Kissing privileges restored" she whispered as she planted a long and luscious kiss on his lips.

"Well that was easy" Ezra said, putting his arms behind his head and kicking off with his feet to twirl his chair around.

"Annnnnd there they go again" Sabine grinned at him.

" _Anyways_ , Kanan and Hera. Any ideas?" Ezra said, clearing his throat and getting back to business.

"Well, I was thinking maybe it's time for a little family dinner. We haven't done that in a while. We could break the news to them then" she offered.

"That could work. We might wanna invite Rex and Al too" Ezra said

"Al?" Sabine asked, quirking her eyebrow and looking at him with confusion

"Ohhh yeah, no one told you" Ezra told her, enjoying the moment. "Alexsandr Kallus, former Agent of the Imperial Security Bureau"

"You're kidding. His name is Alexsandr?" Sabine asked, not sure if she believed it.

"Oh well" she said, returning to her controls, "I've heard worse names. I've kissed men with worse names" she continued, smiling to herself.

"I thought I was your first…oh real funny" Ezra said, tossing a crumpled ration pack wrapper at her.

Sabine giggled, plucking the wrapper up from the console and throwing it back at him. "It's not that bad, just needs a little upgrade. I'm thinking…Ezra Wren"

"What's wrong with Sabine Bridger?" Ezra shot back

"Uh no. That's not how it works love" Sabine said, smiling sweetly as they dropped out of hyperspace.

"It is on Lothal" Ezra groused, though he was inwardly already warming up to the idea of taking Sabine's family name.

"You have a lot to learn about Mandalorians. Brace yourself for atmospheric entry"

The small ship's shields blossomed for an instant as dark black space turned to red, then resolved to the baby blue sky of the small moon.

"Yavin Control, this is _Starbird_ , requesting clearance for landing" Sabine said over the comm while transmitting their clearance codes.

" _Starbird_ , Yavin Control. Welcome home. You are cleared for arrival in Hanger Bravo, Pad 4. There is a party waiting for you".

The ship slowed to a halt over the wide opening of the hanger bay, main engines spinning down while the sleek arrow shaped wings rotated vertically, allowing the repulsorlifts to finish the landing sequence.

"Kriff. They're waiting for us at the pad. Great." Ezra sighed, getting to his feet and stuffing what little of his gear he had left out into his bag.

"What's wrong with that?" Sabine asked, rising to do the same.

"Well if we're telling them tonight, we can't exactly act like _this_ when we land can we?" Ezra explained

"Right. Hmm" Sabine said, seeing the problem.

They felt the ground rumble once as the landing gear settled onto the surface

"Another happy landing" Ezra deadpanned.

"Shut it" Sabine replied, taking him by the hand and kissing him gently one more time.

"I thought you were never going to kiss me again" he asked her, pulling away finally and taking her hand, savoring the smooth touch.

"Captain's prerogative" she answered

"Whoa whoa, I agreed to this being our ship, but I'm still the captain" Ezra said, following her out of the cockpit and towards the main ramp.

"Fiiine. Woman's prerogative then. Don't know when we'll get another chance" Sabine sighed, letting him think he'd won this one.

They were standing at the top of the ramp, listening for the air recyclers to equalize the pressure before the ramp began lowering.

"Well what should we do?" Ezra asked her again anxiously. The ramp was beginning to slowly lower, and they could already see a tall man with a mask and ponytail walking towards them.

Sabine reached over and grasped his hand one final time, giving it a firm squeeze, before stepping away from him slightly.

"Keep your distance. But don't look like you're keeping your distance" she told him

"What does that even mean?" Ezra asked hurriedly. The ramp was almost down now.

"I don't know! Act casually!" Sabine whispered at him as the ramp came to halt on the pad.

"What the.."Ezra began, but Sabine was already stepping forward.

"Kanan!" she shouted, her normal cool smile already painted on her face.

"Welcome back Sabine" Kanan replied, smiling tersely. "You too kid" he added for Ezra

Newly minted Chief of the Massassi Group Intelligence Division Alexsandr Kallus was now stepping towards them as well, flanked by two security personnel.

"Commander Bridger, Ms. Wren. Welcome back, I trust your mission was a success?" Kallus asked smoothly in his usual crisp Imperial accent, but without any of the arrogance they had come to know him for.

"You could say that" Ezra told him, ready to give his report as the leader of the mission, at least on paper.

"Excellent. I'm afraid your debriefing will have to wait until you return from your next mission. Do you have anything for me?" Kallus asked, his trained mind noting the flushed cheeks, dilated pupils, and jittery motions of the two youth's mannerisms. It looked like he might be collecting a debt from Garazeb after all, if his intuition was correct. And it usually was.

"Actually yeah" Ezra told him, shuffling his pack around so he could reach into his pocket and retrieve the small data disk the woman had given him in the bar. "Next mission?"

"I'll take that. As for your question, I'll let Kanan fill you in. I believe you'd want to hear it from him. Good day to you both" Kallus finished, nodding politely to them. Ezra might have been seeing things, but he thought he saw Kallus wink at him. Before he could be sure, he and his escort were gone.

"Kanan…what was he talking about?" Ezra asked, giving his Master skeptical look. From behind Kanan's back, he could see Hera sprinting up to join them, Chopper and Zeb following quickly in her stead.

Kanan returned Ezra's look, well not really, but he turned his head in his apprentice's direction and said "don't unpack your bags just yet" before ignoring his question.

"Sabine, we received a coded transmission from Krownest. It's your father. They've found him"

The End.

A/N: Well, there it is. I'm not sure what to say. It's been one hell of a ride. Almost 9 months to the day from start to finish, with a break in there that took wayyyy too long. I want to thank all of you for sticking with me through the end, and for the hundreds of kind reviews, messages, PMs, and advice I've gotten while writing this. More than anything else, this story has been quite the learning experience for me. I started this without having done any creative writing of note in over a decade, and now here we are over 60,000 words later. I hope it met your expectations. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you all had as much fun reading it.

Readers in the future, this final update was made just a few days before the series finale of Rebels, so at the time of this writing we have no idea what's going to happen for our Ghost family at the end. I don't know if it's going to go the way any of us are hoping or expecting, I know there have been some losses in this last season that hit a lot of us hard. In any case, even if we don't get the sort of ideal ending we all want, I hope stories like mine and many others can help fill that gap the series might leave. I am and always will be a big fan of Sabezra/Ezrabine, and the ending won't change that. That's one of the great things about fanfiction; you can have the story _you_ want, even if the show doesn't give it to you.

In case you're wondering, once I knew I was going to make this longer than a few chapters, I had planned to end it right before where episode 01 of season 4 began. Kanan, Ezra, Sabine and Chopper are about to head off to Mandalore to rescue her father. If you squint and ignore some of the details, you can pretend that this happened right before that. Not strictly canon, but somewhat canon compliant at least.

Lastly, I need to thank a few people specifically. FFnet users ddaulton94, SweetSinger2010, lothcat1138, and TheYellowLantern, who have helped push me through this slump of writers block and encouraged me to finally finish this thing. They're all great writers in the own respect, and I highly encourage you to visit their pages and read some more awesome Sabezra and Kanera stories.

Thanks again to all of you, and I'm glad I was able to keep my promise.


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